Uta no Princesama: Nocturne
by mantabel91
Summary: After such a successful year, what will be in store for Haruka and the boys this year? HarukaxOtoya along with some OCs pairing.
1. The OCness

**OCs in my Uta no Prince-sama fanfiction:**

**(In the order that they appear)  
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**Junko Sato**

Age: 16

Birthday: September 25

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Hair: layer brunette

Eyes: chocolate brown

Height: 5'0"

Body type: petite

Instrument: Trumpet

Likes: stuffed animals, jazz, doodling, sushi, and being tidy

Dislikes: being called names that deal with her height or habits and messes

**Mari Ono**

Age: 18

Birthday: February 14

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Hair: pixie cut dyed pink (original color was a dark blonde)

Eyes: light blue

Height: 5'10"

Body type: athletic

Instrument: D J sound system

Likes: volleyball, softball, basketball, swimming, running, making mix tapes, pizza, and D Jing at parties or school events

Dislikes: being called cute, flirtatious people, whiney people, her roommate, Kohaku

**Kohaku Fukuda**

Age: 18

Birthday: June 9

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Hair: natural red with light curls, length stops at mid back. (She always has a type of flower in her hair)

Eye: violet

Height: 5'6"

Body type: a fit curvy figure

Instrument: clarinet

Likes: being flirty, having things done for her, low calorie foods, coffee, and boys

Dislikes: being taken advantage of, not getting her way, sweat, and her roommate, Mari

**Natsako Yamamoto**

Age: 17

Birthday: March 25

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Hair: straight mousy brown hair, falls a little of the shoulder (always in pigtailed braids)

Eyes: gray (wearing glasses)

Height: 5'4"

Body type: slightly above petite

Instrument: oboe

Likes: reading, writing (mostly short stories), drawing, practicing her oboe, math, science, history, English, Japanese culture, tea, and traditions

Dislikes: people who cheat or break rules, being interrupted from studying, practice or reading, girls who act dumb to get their way, and people who make fun of her for being smart

**Masami Fujimoto**

Age: 17

Birthday: August 30

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Hair: straight jet black hair, falls below her cheek (bangs are always pinned back)

Eye: deep blue

Height: 5'6"

Body type: slender

Instrument: cello

Likes: being friendly, arranging flowers, pasta, writing songs for other people, orchestra, and her grandmother

Dislikes: unfaithful men, failure, not being good enough for someone, and being a perfectionist


	2. The New Comer

A new year at Saotome Academy was about to begin as Haruka walked through the door to her new dorm room. Little by little it was becoming less and less clutter as she and her roommate, Tomochika, organized their room.

"Wow!" Tomochika exclaimed as she stretched her back, "A whole year has gone by and now we're one step closer to reaching our goals."

Haruka smiled and nodded towards her best friend. They had been through so much and it was just good to know that she had someone to stand by her.

Suddenly a wild cry came from down the hall. The pair rushed to the door to found out what was happening. Apparently, Junko Sato was getting a new roommate and was rushing to make sure everything was in order for her new bunk mate.

"You would think that little fairy would get a grip," said Mari Ono glaring down the hall at the petite brunette who was causing a scene.

"Well you know how Junko is. OCD like always," giggle Kohaku Fukuda as she nudged her tall pink pixie haired roommate, "She's probably disinfecting the place right now."

"Kohaku, you're so mean," said Natsako Yamamoto to the red headed beauty.

Stumbling out the door of her room came the little big eyed brunette, falling face first with boxes flying everywhere and down the steps too. The five girls who were watching the fiasco, rushed over to help the smallest member of their floor.

"Are you all right, Junko?" asked Tomochika as she examined Junko's face.

"I think I'm over doing it again," the brown eyed girl said as she rubbed a bump on her head, "I've just never had someone important stay in my room before is all and I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect."

"What's so special about your new roommate anyways?" Haruka asked, "I'm pretty sure she's just like everyone else here at the academy."

Junko stared at her with her wide-eyed at her, grabbed the neck of her shirt and brought her in close.

"That's just it! She's higher up on the totem pole than we are! She's at the top of the food chain! She's an heiress to a multibillion dollar fortune! And the fact that she's coming to our school is an historic event for all of us!" exclaimed the small brunette. For someone as small as her she had a strong grip.

"Is that why you're flipping out?" Mari scowled as she picked up the set the last box down, "Psh… Kohaku is an heiress too and you don't see people bending over backwards for her."

"HEY!" the violet eyed beauty exclaimed, "I am too important! Don't you remember how many boys were asking me to dance with them at the Christmas ball last year?"

"Doesn't make you important, it just makes you a flirt," the aggressive tomboy said to her roommate.

"CAN WE GET BACK TO THE REAL MATTER AT HAND?" screamed Junko as she flailed her arms in the air to get everyone's attention, "WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW MY LIFE IS OVER AS SOON AS…"

"Ummm… excuse me," came a small voice from the stairwell, "I hope I am not interrupting anything, but I was wondering where I could find room 314?"

They all stared at the slender figure that was there before them. Black hair that fell just below her cheek with a flower pin to keep her bangs up, eyes of a deep blue, skin of an olive color with a slight tan to give her a summer glow, and a polite smile that made everyone forget what they were all doing there.

"Oh right!" Junko said as she jumped to her feet and bowed, "Junko Sato here! I'm your roommate Miss Fujimoto!"

"Oh no need to be so formal, Miss Sato," said the new comer, "Just Masami is fine and I am honored to be your roommate, if you will have me."

Junko felt her face heat up at the respect that she was receiving.

"Well then, I guess it's my duty to make sure you get settled in Miss Masami," she said cheerfully as she escorted her new roommate to their room.

"Fujimoto? Well that's not a name you hear out here in these parts," Kohaku said as they all stared at the odd couple.

"Why is that, Kohaku?" asked Haruka.

"Well not that I'm one to gossip, but the Fujimoto family usually only let their sons go to private schools. The daughters are usually homeschooled and are taught how to be proper wives," she said lowering her voice hoping that she wouldn't offend their new floor mate.

"Oh that's right," Natsako chimed in, "I think I read something about that. The Fujimoto family dates back to the third dynasty."

"We're not talking about how old the family is, you egg head," snarled the red head beauty.

"Well at least it carries more than your family background as pig farmers in the ninth dynasty," Natsako said in a matter-of-fact tone as she adjusted her glasses.

"Anyways," Kohaku said as she tried to fight back the urge to pull the nerd's braids, "the only reason they would let her come to a school like this or any other school is because she is betrothed."

Shocked expression developed on each of the girls' faces.

"Betrothed? But to who?" Tomochika asked, "And at such a young age too? It doesn't make any sense and yet it sounds romantic."

Haruka looked back into the room where Junko was helping Masami get settled in. She stared at the ebony hair girl who laughed at how much the short brunette was fusing over how "messing" she had let the room get before her arrival.

"Well," Haruka said, "There is one way to find out."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"A sleepover? In our room?" exclaimed Junko, "But you all will make messes and start pillow fights and I don't think we should excite Miss Masami too much."

"Oh, but we want to make sure Miss Masami is comfy and feels welcome on our floor," Haruka said with a smile, "I wouldn't want her to feel like she is an outsider."

"And we can play board games and read magazines and think what we should do with our hair and make up for the open ceremony tomorrow. I bet you would want to look nice for Shou, don't you?" Tomochika chimed in over her friend's shoulder.

Junko's face turned beet red as she started to tremble, "I… I don't know w…w…what you're talking about."

"Oh Junko-chan," Masami said as she laid a hand on her shoulder, "Let them come over. It sounds like fun."

"More like torture if you ask me," grumbled Mari and Kohaku elbowed her hard in the ribs before she said anything more.

"Plus this give us the chance to know you better, Miss Fujimoto," Natsako said as she bowed.

"Uh… I guess it's settle then," Junko said with a heavy heart, but then straighten up and said in a commanding voice, "But everyone picks up after themselves and we stay up no later than midnight! And there will no talk of Shou, agreed?"

"Agreed," the group said as they nodded their heads.

"Good," she smiled taking pride in her assertiveness, "Now we will meet back here at eight o'clock tonight. Go go go! Miss Masami, let's go into town so we can make this your best sleep over ever!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tomochika wore a part of long pajama bottoms adorn with cats with a matching tee. She waited on Haruka, who was sporting a pair of shorts and a Starish band tee, to find her favorite blanket.

"So what do you think of Masami so form, Haru-chan?" she asked.

"She seems nice. Why?" Haruka said as she folded up the patchwork blanket.

"Well, it's just if she is an heiress, then what if she turns out to be as bad as Kohaku?" she said as to twirled a strand of hair in her fingers, "Not that I don't like Kohaku, but it's just that she can be so rude and snobbish at times that it can be hard to be in the same room as her. Or maybe she'll turn out to be more like that one girl in class S who flips hair and sashays everywhere she goes."

Tomochika shuddered at the thought as having another snobby rich girl in the academy and Haruka giggle at her friend's grimacing look.

"I'm sure Miss Masami is nothing like her," she said as the two started heading down the hall to room 314. Natsako waited outside the door wearing a sweat shirt and sweat pants and carrying a bag and a pillow.

"What's in the bag, Natsako-sama?" asked Haruka.

"Herbal teas. I'm sure Miss Fujimoto will appreciate this welcome gift," she said responded with a smile.

"Boring," came a voice from them. They turned to see Kohaku and Mari. Mari wore a pair running shorts and an old tank top while Kohaku wore a pink baby doll top, white polka dot shorts, and fuzzy slippers.

"What makes you think she would like that?" Kohaku asked as she flipped her hair.

"As a descendant of Fujimoto family, they are a family that values every ounce of Japanese traditions. So Miss Fujimoto will appreciate this kind gesture. I will even be willing to prepare it properly," Natsako answered.

"Please," Kohaku scoffed, "She has been drowning in tradition for so long that she has to have the urge to be a girl instead an old lady. That's why I bought these."

She reached in duffle bag and pulled out glossy magazines that had pictures of models, movie stars and pop idols.

"Hold on a second," Mari said pulling one of them out of her hand, "This one has Starish on their cover. I thought we promise Junko we weren't going to talk about Shou?"

"We're not going to talk about Shou," the violent eyes beauty snapped, trying to get her magazine back, "I brought these for the articles. Geez."

Tomochika giggled, "Oh please Kohaku. Sometimes you just like ruffling up Junko's feathers."

The door opened wide to reveal the petite brunette in a satin nightgown the fell at her calves. A bright smile spread across her face as welcomed in the group. Haruka noticed that there was something different about Junko though.

"It that a silk ribbon in your hair, Junko-chan?" she asked as she pointed out the pink ribbon.

"Oh yeah. Miss Masami saw me eyeing it in a store front window and thought I should have it. She told me to think of it as a thank you for making her feel so welcome," Junko replied in a chipper tone.

As the girls were about to get settled the door opened behind them to reveal Miss Masami. The girls ogled at her floor length gold silk robe that had embroidered peacocks. Her hair was being held up by chopsticks. She looked like she had just stepped out of a history book.

"Oh Miss Masami, what a lovely robe you have," Kohaku said, "Where ever did you get it?"

"It's been in my family for many generations. It's always been past down to the first daughter of Fujimoto. My grandmother gave it to me and I will give it to my brother's first daughter," she replied as she hung her towel on the hook. She joined the girls in the circle sitting in between Junko and Haruka.

"Now that we're all here, let's get this party start," said Kohaku and on cue Mari popped in one of her MP3 into the stereo system and blurred a mix of rock, pop, r &b and other types of music. The girls giggled as they shared stories of one another. Tomochika told the time on how Haruka fell last year at the start of the opening ceremony while Kohaku told one of Mari losing a bet to her and having to wear makeup for a whole day. Natsako blushed at an article on the "7 Ways to Please Your Man" as Junko unbraided her hair to put curlers in it. Mari opened a bag of chips and pigged out on that and Pocky, but also to make sure that the music was still bumping. Haruka painted her toes. From what everyone could tell, Masami was having a good time until a single question changed the whole tone of the party.

"So Miss Masami, what really brings you to Saotome Academy?" Kohaku asked as she brushed Masami hair.

"Oh that… I'm here for the music programs they have here… That's all," she said as she suddenly found interest in a loose thread on her robe.

"Miss Masami?" Haruka asked, "Is there something you don't want us to know?"

"It's not that. You all have been so kind, but it's not the time or place to share such things yet," she said politely as she looked down at her new honey eyed companion.

"So you are engaged?" Kohaku pressed on only to get hit in the back of the head with a rolled up magazine, "Hey! What you do that for, Mari? Was that really necessary?"

"Don't scare the girl, you jerk," Mari said sternly.

"I'm not scaring her, you jerk! I simply want to get to know her better," Kohaku said as she smacked Mari with a pillow.

"Hey! I'm not the one asking stupid questions!" Mari exclaimed as she attacked back. Kohaku ducked making her hit Masami. Mari was stunned when she knocked her over with the blow.

"Oh Miss Masami, I'm so sorry. I meant to hit… Uh!" Masami hit Mari in the stomach with a pillow. The rest of the girls stared in shock. They have never seen anyone take a shot at Mari. Masami went into a giggling fit as she picked up her pillow and knocked over Tomochika.

"No fair Masami-chan!" she giggled, "I was distracted. Pillow fight!"

"Aye… No! You'll make a… AH!" Junko was knocked in the head by Kohaku and it was all out war from there.

Yes, this was the best sleep over Masami Fujimoto had ever been to.


	3. Unsuspecting Romances

Class A was a buzz that morning when they heard of the new addition to their class. The gossip and stories were flying from everywhere. Junko played with the end of her ribbon and snickered as some of the girls tried to whittled answers out of her.

"Come on, Junko-chan! Tell us if it's true!" squealed one girl.

"Yeah! Come on!" cried another.

"Nope," Junko said as she winked, "Not going to say anything."

"Not that she would really know anything," Mari said under her breath as she let out a yawn.

"Oh lighten up, Mari," Tomochika said with a smile, "Junko-chan never had this kind of attention before, let her have some fun for awhile."

"Ptts… Whatever," Mari shrugged as she stretched her back, "Man, I really shouldn't have slept on the floor last night."

"Well, Mari-chan," Kohaku said as she slung an arm around Mari's neck, "We would have let sleep on a bed, but you know how much I treasure my sleep."

"Get off me, Fukuda," she grumbled.

"Attention class," said Ringo Tsukimiya. The classroom became quiet as the students turned their attention to the new student. "Now please everyone let us all give a warm welcome to our newest member of our class Miss Masami Fujimoto."

Murmurs were heard under a small applause.

"Thank you for your warm welcomes," Masami said with a small bow.

"Miss Fujimoto," Ringo said in a cheery tone, "Perhaps you would like to share a little bit of yourself through your talent."

"I beg your pardon, sir," she replied with a confused look.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard that you are classically trained on cello," he replied with a playful smile, "All new students in my class are evaluated in front of their peers and myself so we know where you might stand, so please play for us."

Ringo Trukimiya pulled out a chair as a student wheeled in Masami's cello case. Masami looked a little worried and confused, but somewhere in the classroom she spotted a face that seem to calm her nerves. With a smile, she agreed to Ringo's request. She asked the teacher to play her an A on the piano so she could tune the stringed instrument. The room waited with anticipation as soft whispers were exchanged between the students.

"Isn't this exciting?" Junko whispered to Haruka, "Miss Masami is going to play for us. I bet she's really good from the kind of training she got."

"What kind of training would that be?" Haruka asked her small friend.

"Maybe Yo-Yo Ma taught her himself," she said with delight as her eyes got bigger.

"Are you ready to play, Miss Fujimoto?" asked the pretty male teacher. She nodded in responds. "Would you care to share with the class what piece you shall be playing?"

"Prelude from Cello Suite 1 by Bach," she said. She placed the bow on a string and began to play. Eyes closed, her fingers began to dance on the fingerboard as the melody flow through the air. Her head bobbed every time she made a note resonate. Haruka felt like she was in another world. She could see trees grow around her, smell flowers blooming and imagined fairy people dancing around.

"Pure magic," she whispered in her daze.

As the final note sounded, Masami let out a sigh. Applause came from the students of Class A as a sign of a job well day.

"Bravo! Bravo! Oh such talent! Such passion! Oh so touching!" Ringo cheered as he dabbed his eyes, "You truly have a gift, Miss Fujimoto."

"Thank you, Tsukimiya-sensei," she replied as she bowed, "Thank you everyone."

"She sure is polite," Kohaku whispered.

"We should have lunch with her, Haruka-chan," Tomochika said to Haruka.

"Agreed," she replied with a smile.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Under a shady tree, Haruka and Tomochika sat exchanging small talk while accompanied by Natsako, who was reading a book.

"Whatcha reading there, Natsako-chan?" Tomochika asked.

"A thrilling mystery story," Natsako stated dully.

"Really, Natsako? You're going to read when there is gossiping to be done," Kohaku sneered as she and Mari approached with their bentos in hand.

"Geez, will you just let it go, Fukuda," Mari grumbled as she sat next to Natsako, leaning her back against the tree, "If Masami doesn't want to talk about why she is here, then she doesn't, so just drop it."

Kohaku glared at her roommate as she took her place in the incomplete circle. With a "humph", she opened the top of her bento, turned herself away from Mari and began eating her lunch in peace.

"Wow, no come back, Kohaku-chan," said a sly voice from behind the tree. The girls turned to see the tall, dirty blonde haired boy. He had a playful smirk on his face as he eyed the red haired beauty. His blue eyes twinkled playful as they stared into her violet.

"What do you want, Ren?" she asked in disgust.

"Oh, nothing, just joining you lovely ladies for lunch or do you object to it, sweet rose?" he asked as he sat next to her and purposely placed a hand on her knee.

"I do, actually," she said as she slapped his hand away, "And don't call me sweet rose! I'm nothing to you."

"Actually, Kohaku-chan," Haruka chimed in, "I asked the guys of Starish to join us for the first lunch of the new semester. Otoya-san has a new song he wants to play for us."

"So you see, my little beauty, you'll just have to tolerate my presence anyways ," Ren replied as he began to play with a strand of her thick hair.

"Really, Ren, is that necessary?" said a cool voice from behind the tree.

"Oh come now, Masato," Ren said teasingly as he pulled the blue haired boy to sit with the group, "No need to hide from the lovely Miss Fujimoto everyone is talking about."

"I'm not hiding," he said glaring at the shaggy haired band member. Haruka noted that there was a hint of pink on his cheek after Ren mentioned Masami.

"Of course not! Just not wanting her to see you is all, right?" Ren said as he slanged an arm around his roommate's neck in a playful manner.

"Please get off me," he said drily.

"MARI-CHAN!" came a cry from the distance. Mari freeze with fear. "Oh no," she whispered and was soon tackled to the ground by the four-eyed devil that haunted her dreams all summer long. He snuggled up close to her with his cheek rubbing hers as the two were covered by rice, shrimp, and egg. He was content like a baby kitten and she was annoyed like an old cat.

"Mari-chan, I missed you this summer. Did you miss me? What did you this summer? You hardly responded to any of my e-mails. I had hoped we would have met up at the mall and shop at that boutique you like so much. You know, the one where you got that cute bow you wore last year?" he said super fast as Mari tried to pry away from him.

"Shinomiya," she growled, "Get off!"

"Ah… Now there is a cute couple," Kohaku remarked smugly as she took a bite of her rice.

"Don't call us cute!" Mari shouted as she finally getting away from Natsuki, "And what did I tell you about calling me Mari-chan, Shinomiya?"

"But Mari-chan," he pouted as he brushed some rice out of her pink hair, "I love calling you that. It makes you blush every time I call you that."

"Well stop," she said trying to hide her face from everyone, "It makes me look uncool."

"Well I think it makes you look cute, Mari-chan," he said dumbly, "Oh! And I even made you lunch! HERE!"

He handed her an open container with an odd concoction of onion, rice, squid, peanut butter, sea weed, and some purple slime.

"Uh… Thanks?" she replied.

"Hahahaha… Oh this is rich!" Kohaku laughed and Ren snickered along with her.

Natsuki and Mari started dating at the beginning of the summer. No one really knew what drew the loveable, carefree Natsuki to the cool, calm Mari, but whatever it was, it was something he couldn't get enough of. The same couldn't be said for Mari. Kohaku said it had to be because she didn't want to hurt Natsuki while Natsako said that it had been proven that opposites did attract.

They all watched as Mari slowly began to stomach Natsuki "lunch".

"Well?" he asked as he made doe eyes at her.

"It's good," she choked, "Just a little spice."

"Maybe I shouldn't have used cayenne pepper," he said to himself and Mari spat the mouthful of the lunch she had in her mouth and begged for water.

"Geez Natsuki," laughed his small companion, "Trying to kill your girlfriend."

"No," he said glumly, "Just wanted to do something special for her, ochibi-chan."

"Ah… Don't feel bad, Natsuki," he said giving his best friend a thumbs up, "She must like you enough to eat anything you make. By the way, where is tampen-chan?"

"Oh don't you start," Haruka warned, "You know how Junko-chan feels about you calling her that, Shou."

"Oh come on, Haruka-chan," he said with a mouthful of the rice ball he was eating, "It's only out of fun."

"Of course, the only reason he takes enjoyment out of that is because she's the only person in the academy that is smaller than him," Natsako said dully, not looking up from her book, "And to answer your question, Shou, she's helping Miss Masami get lunch."

"That shrimp ended up rooming with an heiress?" he asked as he cocked an eyebrow, "Bet she has been bragging the whole morning."

"You have no idea," Mari mumbled.

"Well, who can blame her," Kohaku said, "If anyone roomed with an heir or heiress, who wouldn't brag? Right, Mari-chan?"

"You better sleep with one eye open tonight, Fukuda," Mari said with a wicked smile, "You might just end up bald in the morning."

"You wouldn't dare!" she panicked.

"Call me Mari-chan and see what happens," the pink haired tomboy replied as she took another bite of the awful lunch.

Tokiya joined soon after that and took a seat next to Haruka. He silently observed the group as his roommate, Otoya, bounded to the group with his guitar in hand.

"Sorry for being late, Haruka-chan. I ran into some hall traffic to the music studio and then was stopped by Shining Saotomoe in the hall for running and then… Why are there so many people here?" the red haired boy asked as he stared at the group with confusion.

"Oh, I told everyone that you had a new song that you wanted to play for us," she said simply as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Oh… I thought… Never mind," he said with a smile and took his place next to Tokiya, "The song isn't really ready to be played anyways."

"Ah… I was kind of looking forward to it," she replied, "Oh well maybe next time."

"Hey guys!" said a cheerful greeting, "You won't believe this, but Miss Masami decided to buy me lunch today. First this ribbon and now this! It's so exciting."

Junko and Masami took their place in the circle, sitting side by side. Shou found himself staring at Junko. He had never seen her with her hair pulled back and noticed how her brown eyes sparkled as she smiled. Masato seemed to be avoiding eye contact from everyone while Ren tried to pull Kohaku into his lap. Jokes were said as each shared stories about summer. Masami seemed to be the quietest of the group. She merely listened, smiled, and nodded. When spoken to, she would only say a sentence or two, but no more. Natuski would lean his head on Mari's shoulder every once in a while Natsako would steal brief glances at Tokiya from behind her book. Haruka and Otoya would laugh at each other as Tomochika would smile at the small budding romances that were happening in front her.

In her mind she seemed to be the only one who knew what was going on. Ren would be willing to go steady with Kohaku given the chance. Shou and Junko only picked on each other, because the two have had a crush on each other since their first year together. Otoya liked Haruka so much, but poor Haruka was too dense see that. Mari may not show it a lot, but she really did like Natsako a lot and was happy to be dating a reliable guy. Natsako was cute with the school girl crush she had on Tokiya and Tokiya seemed to like down to earth girls anyways. Why wouldn't they work? And then there was Masami and Masato. If what Kohaku is right about why Masami is at their school, then Masato Hijirikawa had to be the one that she was engaged to. They may not be as obvious as the others were, but she had a feeling that there was something between them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night, Tomochika flipped through a magazine as Haruka scribbled down a song idea she had early that day as she hummed the melody she had in mind.

"Do you think Miss Masami is engaged to Masato, Haruka-chan?" she asked not looking up from the article she was skimming.

"Huh?" she said as she looked at her friend with a confused look, "Please tell me you're not gossiping with Kohaku again."

"No silly, beside most of the stuff she talks about is usually about herself anyways," Tomochika giggled.

"So why did you bring it up?" Haruka asked as she chewed on the end of her erase.

"Well, if everything Kohaku says is true about the Fujimoto family, then who else would be a likely fiancé for her than someone with one of the most powerful names in the side of the world," she said, "And it's so romantic too!"

"How is being forced to marry someone you don't even know romantic?" the ginger asked.

"Well," she said as she twirled a piece of her hair, "It's almost like prince charming marrying a princess in a way. They know nothing about the other, but somehow they learn to love each other. Don't you think?"

"I still don't see it," Haruka replied still confused over why her friend was so fascinated by this subject.

"Just think about it," Tomochika said sitting up and facing her friend, "He is a Hijirikawa and the first son to that name. She is obvious is a Fujimoto and has to be the first daughter of that name. And if the rumors are true about the Fujimoto family, that they only let their daughters attend schools like this when they have found a proper match for them, then Masato-san has to be the one she's engage to. Beside, why would Satome Academy accept a student at her age?"

"I guess if the rumors are true…" she said as she tried putting two and two together.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Please Haruka," Masato said with a bored look, "How am I supposed to know why Miss Fujimoto is here for?"

"Well, it's just a little weird that Saotome Academy would accept someone of her age, right?" she said with a nervous smile as she pulled at the sleeves of her jacket.

"Were you not watching her performance yesterday," he said as he leaned his elbows on his desk and narrowed his eyes at her, "She shows promise as a student for Saotome, so why wouldn't she be accepted her?"

"Well it's just she's a Fujimoto and you're a Hijirikawa…"

"And you think we're engaged," he said finishing her sentence and she nodded feeling a little embarrassed for even asking, "Haruka, Miss Fujimoto is a lovely person and yes, her name has some power, but don't believe everything you hear."

And as if on cue, Junko walked into the classroom with Masami following close behind, Junko beaming like she had just won a prize while Masami smiled at her new friend's delight.

"You should have seen it, Miss Masami," she said, "Shou's face was priceless!"

"Hahaha… What a funny story, Junko-chan," she replied politely as she reached the desk Haruka was stand next to, "Oh, good morning Haruka. Good morning Masato."

"Masami," he said with a nod.

"Oh don't you wish Natsako-chan was in this class to, Miss Masami," Junko chimed in, "Then you two could continue your conversation on those spirit things you two had last night."

"Spirit things?" Haruka asked not really liking where this was going.

"We were talking about Enenra for one of her short stories she was writing about. We stayed up pretty late that I had to ask her to leave, but I apologized to her this morning for cutting our time together so short," Masami said as she took her seat.

"But it was so cool how they went on and on. You should have been there, Haruka-chan," Junko said as smiled with like a small child, "It was so awesome."

"Well, it was fun. I've never stayed up pass midnight unless it was a formal event," Masami said smiling up at Haruka.

Haruka smiled back. She was glad that Masami was enjoying her time at Saotome. What was she getting all worked up for? There could be thousand reasons that Masami was here. She was just happy that Masami felt welcome among the students seeing that she knew how hard it was being the new girl. No need to worry about silly rumors.


	4. Slap in the Face

The sun was shining on an autumn morning as the students of Saotome Academy made small talk on their way to class. At the top of the stairwell stood Ren Jinguuji eyeing at some fresh prey until he was hit in the back of the head with a book.

"Ouch!" he hollered, "What's the big idea, Masato?"

"Just making sure you're not late to class is all," his blue haired roommate replied dully as he continued down the hall.

Ren rubbed the bump he got as he cursed his annoying, serious roommate.

"And then Daddy said he was going to award me with a trip to Paris," said a familiar voice he adored so much. Miss Kohuka Fukuda was being followed by her girl fan club again. He leaned against the banister of the stairwell in cool, laid back way. He was at hoping to catch someone's attention knowing very well that Kohuka was just going to "ignore" him.

"Wow. I wonder if Miss Masami's father is the same way," said one girl.

"If so, then Miss Kohuka and Miss Masami can travel together!" squealed another.

"Hmmm… that would be fun now that I think about it," Kohuka said to herself, "Oh and then we could go shopping on Avenue Montaigne and Avenue des Champs-Elysees!"

"YAY!" the girls squealed with delight as well and fell into a fit of giggles.

"Oh hello Ren-san," said one of the fan girls which then made a ripple effect as all of them turned to look at the cool upperclassman.

"Ladies," he said as he winked at them, making them all swoon, "My, what lovely flowers we have here today. Yet all daisies that long to be like the rose they surround."

Kohuka acted unimpressed by Ren's wordplay, but he knew his patience would be rewarded one day and she would be his.

"Wow, Ren-san is so cool," one of the girls said not really caring that he really just insulted them.

"And what is this?" he asked pointing at her hair pin, "Never see that one before."

"It's a gladiolus," she said bluntly, "Roses can mean a number of things such as love, adoration, friendship, and innocence. Whereas the gladiolus symbolizes strength and moral integrity which is something you, Ren Jinguuji, do not have."

With a "humph" and a flip of her hair, Kohuka stuck her nose in the air as she purposely bumped pass the blonde haired flirt she detested so much.

"You're something else, Kohuka-chan," he said with a smirk. Apparently her words didn't faze him as she stopped dead in her track. "You play the 'high and might' card when you know you have the same habits as me."

The group of girl 'oohed' as Ren threw down the gantlet. If Mari was here, she would have told Kohuka to just walk away and that this wasn't a fight worth picking, but Mari wasn't around to stop her this time. She couldn't take it anymore and decided to take matters into her own hands as she turned on her heels, walking right back up to him. Before Ren could say the smart remark he was planning to say, he felt a sting come right across his face. The girls gasped as the saw the acted take place.

"How dare you compare me to you," she whispered her voice shaky at the same time, "I may flirt and flaunt myself around, but I at least have the dignity to save myself for someone who will love me unlike you who is willing to throw something so precious away."

Ren looked down at her seeing the water build up in her eyes as she tried to blink them back. He had never seen her so vulnerable before. He wanted to take back what he said, but it was too late. He last saw Kohuka dashing down the hallway, hoping to hide her shame.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She felt like she was going to explode as she splashed the cold water against her face. She had wanted to do that for so long, but she felt no satisfaction. Kohuka bit her lip to try and stop her tears from coming, but she couldn't fight it anymore. They trickled down her face, mixing with the little water droplets that were already there. She let him see too much of her. He wasn't supposed to let her break like this so easily. What would her mother think of her acting like this?

"He's just a stupid boy," she said to herself as she tried to calm her nerves. Kohuka straightened herself up to like it the mirror. She was a mess. Her hair had gotten out of control and her makeup was messed up. At least her eyes weren't that red. She reached into her bag, grabbing her brush so she could tame the unruly mess on her head. Once every curl was back into place and her hair pin where it should be, she grabbed a moist towelette from her bag and wiped her face clean. After appealing foundation, she worked on her eye shadow, the eyeliner and mascara. Finally, after she appealed some blush to her face, she put on her lipstick. Kohuka gave herself a look over once more just to make sure everything was in place. She looked at her watch and saw she had missed homeroom and the first half of her English class. Luckily for her she was already making an A in the class. Unfortunately, Mari was going to have to suffer without her. So she picked up her things and headed down the hall to the music area of the academy.

On her way to a practice room with her clarinet in hand, she passed one of the main practice halls Saotome Academy had. The main jazz band was practicing at this time. The group was made up of four trumpet players, four trombones, two saxophones, two tenor saxophones, a bari-sax player, string bass, guitar, piano and a group of percussionists. Kohuka decided to listen in just when little Junko was just finishing a staler solo on her trumpet. She giggled as she saw Junko's face was turning purple when she reached the high E that ended the piece. And then she saw him, Ren Jinguuji, sitting front row to the left of one of the tenor sax players. Before he looked up from his music, she quietly closed the door behind her and kept moving forward. She was not going to let him have the pleasure of making her cry twice in one day.

"He's just a stupid boy," she kept saying to herself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Ren stretched by his locker after putting away his saxophone.

"Ren-san," said Junko who was just about to put her trumpet away, "You haven't seen Kohuka, have you?"

There was some concern in her voice Ren noted. He wasn't going to let on that he might have done something wrong, so he played it cool.

"Nope. Why do you ask, tampen-chan?" he asked as he leaned against the locker.

"I wish people wouldn't call me that," she grumbled, but then got right back to the point, "Well, she wasn't in homeroom this morning and Mari just texted me tell me she wasn't in English class either. Seeing that you're usually late to class anyways, I thought maybe you might have seen her somewhere. I know she may sleep in sometimes, but she at least shows up to her other classes."

His chest tightened a little. "Nope, didn't see her anywhere this morning. I was pretty much hanging out behind the school with the new student this morning," he lied.

"You were Miss Masami this morning?" she asked shocked.

"Yeah," he continued, "Really sweet girl. She's not really big on making out."

Junko looked at him with a puzzled look on her face, but also remembered that Masami was late getting to homeroom this morning too. This was also strange, because when she woke up this morning, Masami was not in her bed. She figured Masami was off taking her morning shower, not meeting up with Ren.

"Hello Junko-chan," Kohuka said as she approached her small friend from behind.

"Kohuka! Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!" she exclaimed as she grabbed Kohuka's hand, "Are you all right? Did something happen this morning?"

"Everything is fine, you little pixie," Kohuka giggled. She had to slow her breathing down to make sure she wouldn't yell at Ren again seeing that he was still leaning against the lockers.

"But you missed your English class? You never miss class," Junko stated as Kohuka placed her clarinet onto the shelf of the locker she shared with Mari.

"Just getting in some more practice for the winter recital season is all," she said with a shrug, "I'm pretty excited about it actually. My teacher says I'm a shoe in for first place this year."

"Wow. Bet that will send a shock wave through the student body," Junko teased as she winked at her friend.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Kohuka shot back as the two walked down the hall to their next class. Ren was a little surprised that Kohuka had recovered so fast from this morning. He had kind of expected her to make a big scene when she saw him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Ren groaned into his pillow that night. Masato stayed quiet, trying to get some homework done as his roommate pondered what happened today.

"I know it was wrong of me to say something like that, but I mean she's the one who's being difficult. I pay her compliments and she gives me the cold shoulder. I give her a small gift and she throws it away. It's like an endless cycle here," Ren said as he flipped on to his back.

"So she really slapped you?" Masato asked, taking a break from his music theory homework.

"Right in front of a group of girls," he replied as he laid an arm under his hand and touched his cheek, "and it still stings."

"Wish I was there to see that," Masato muttered as he started towards his closet.

"I heard that," Ren grumbled and then sighed, "What am I going to do, Masato?"

"What you always do," he responded after gathering his bathing supplies, "Continue you the chase. You were never one to turn down a challenge, so why stop now."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Ren did what?" Tomochika exclaimed.

"Tomochika, please not so loud," Junko pleaded, "But I mean, he could have just made it up, right? Just to make Kohuka jealous."

"Why would Ren say something that would incriminate Miss Masami's name?" Natsako said as she adjusted her glasses.

"Maybe her name was the first one to come to mind," Mari stated as she leaned against the wall.

"Well, I might have said her name while we were talking, but he admitted to it!" Junko exclaimed, "And now I feel like I don't know my own roommate anymore. What if she is one of those closeted perverts?"

"That sounds a little far fetch don't you think, Junko-chan?" Haruka asked, "I mean she has been so nice to all of us. Why don't we just ask her why she was late to homeroom yesterday?"

"Then that makes me look like I'm some crazy stalker person that wants to know every second of her day! What she eats, where she sleeps, what clothes she wears and I don't want to make things weird between us," the petite brunette said.

"You look weird? Never tampen-chan," said Shou from behind her as he tickled her sides, making her jump.

"OH! SHOU! I'll get you for that," she shouted as she chased him down the hall while Shou laughed as he ran.

"So back to the matter at hand," Natsako drawing the concerned group back into focus, "How do we approach Miss Masami with this predicament?"

"I say we just be straight forward with her," Mari said, "I believe there is a good reason that she was late."

"Agreed," Natsako said.

"But what if she dances around the answer?" Tomochika asked, "I don't think many girls would admit to kissing a boy, especial if it's Ren."

They continued this last part of their conversation not know that someone was listening in.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"As a final announce, the fall sports festival will including these events," class S homeroom teacher, Ryuuya Hyuuga, said as he wrote the events on the board, "Everyone is to participate and I expect everyone to do better than what we did last year."

The door slammed open to reveal an angry Masato Hijirikawa.

"Hijirikawa!" shouted Ryuuya, "What is the meaning of…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because Masato had strolled pass him towards his roommate. Grabbing Ren by the scruff of his collar, he hoisted him out of his seat and punched him in the face with all the rage that was pulsing through his body.

"What the hell, Masato?" Ren yelled as he broke free of Masato's grip.

"That is for telling a lie," he growled as he shook his hand. Masato had never really punched anyone before.

"First he's slapped by Miss Kohaku, now he's getting punched by Masato-san," whispered one of the girls.

"I know," her friend replied, "Who knew Ren was such a bad boy?"

"Or that Masato was so strong?" sighed another one.

Ryuuya Hyuuga had both of them report to Principal Shining Saotome's office for disrupting class.

"If you want to fight each other, at least wait until the sporting festival," he grumbled to them as they walked to the office, "Now sit and don't come back to class until you have this all figured out."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Masato punched Ren?" Masami gasped as she digested the news her friends shared, "But why would he do something like that?"

"He was protecting your integrity, Masami," Kohuka said with a smile, "He when he found out what Ren had told Junko, he decided to take action before it spread like every other rumor heard in this school."

"I had no idea… I mean…" Masami couldn't look anyone in the eye. Her cheeks were starting to turn pink, "Excuse me." She got up to throw away her trash it looked like.

"Looks like someone might have a crush on Masato," Tomochika giggled.

"So Ren really made you upset yesterday, Kohuka?" Mari asked.

"Yeah, but that's water under the bridge now," Kohuka replied as she took a sip of water, "I think him being punched in his precious face by Masato is punishment enough from him."

"But he made you mad. Practically embarrass you," Mari said with concern, "We don't have to hang out with him again if you don't want to."

"Please, Mari," she said rolling her eyes, "If I let one Ren's demeaning comments get me down, then that means he has won. I am a lady after all. No, I shall take the high road from now on."

"Until the next the time he says something stupid," Natsako added and girls laughed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After he had been lectured to about the importance of getting along and told that they were going to have to pay for their actions, Masato really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone else for the rest of the day. He decided to he had to vent and the only way he could was through music. He grabbed his music folder and headed to the nearest piano. After practicing his scales and other warm-ups, Masato flipped through a music book he was given over the summer. He stopped at the page that was marked. Masato placed it on the piano stand and looked it over. He set his metronome and began playing. It was a little rough at first, but once he got passed the missed notes and key changes, he found it was sounding better. An hour had past when her felt his fingers go a little numb and his stomach growl. Masato took a break to get a snack, but when he opened the door, he found Masami standing outside with a can of juice and a wrapped sandwich. They both looked surprised, not really sure what to say to one another or if anything should be said at all.

"Uh… Here," she said softly as she held out the food and drink, "I uh… hope I'm not interrupting you."

"No," he said as he took the sandwich first, "Thanks."

"I knew you weren't at lunch today. I had hoped to catch you during the break," she said as she fiddled with tab of the can, "You know to say thank you."

"For?" he asked before taking another bite.

"Protecting my reputation," she said after opening his drink and handing it to him, "I know with this whole arrangement we have you didn't have to. You could have just let the rumor spread."

"It wouldn't have been fair to you," he said as he tossed the wrapper away and took a sip of his drink.

"Masato," she said looking him in the eye, "I'm grateful to know you're not like other men."

He stared at her for a second. He could have sworn her eyes were twinkling as if she adored him and that her cheeks were flushed. Before he knew it, he felt the warmth of her breath on his face as she placed a single kiss on his cheek. He was frozen stiff from this act of kindness.

"Thank you again, Masato," she said, politely bowing at him. Masato watched as Masami left. His heart was in his throat and his stomach was in knots. His mind was in a haze. Masato smiled to himself as he walked back into the practice room. Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad.


	5. Meeting ObaChan, Mari & Natsuki

Junko was making a fuss over her appearance that Saturday morning. Her OCD was kicking into overdrive as she looked through her wardrobe trying to find something appropriate to wear for tea with Masami and her grandmother. It was too cool for a sun dress, but it was still a little warm for her wool jumper. And then there was the matter of her hair. Was she to wear it up or down? She didn't want to offend Masami's grandmother by wearing the wrong thing.

"Junko-chan," Masami said as she entered their room after taking her morning bath, still towel drying her hair, "Are you all right?"

"No," she responded still looking at her clothes, "I've never been more nervous to meet anyone in my life, Miss Masami. I would just hate to make a fool of myself in front of your grandmother."

"Oh Oba-chan loves meeting new people. She's one of the nicest people in the world for sure," Masami giggled as she hung her towel, "As long as you're yourself, you'll have no problems."

"And that's what I'm afraid of," she whined as she took a seat on Masami so she could look at her, "What if one of my nervous ticks starts to happen?"

"Nervous ticks?"

"You know, I start aligning my spoon and napkin or I start pulling a loose thread on my skirt. That's it! I'll wear that green plaid skirt with my brown turtle neck," Junko said as she bounded for her closet again. Masami couldn't help but laugh. During the month they have been together, Junko had been nothing, but welcoming, encouraging, and funny. Masami had never had a friend like her before. Most of the friends she had were obsessed with their future as brides and wives. Not Junko-chan. She was more obsessed if one of her books on her shelf was out of place or organizing her clothes lightest to darkest. Junko made her forget the real reason she was at Saotome which Masami had yet to tell her or any of their other friends.

"What do you think?" Junko asked twirling around in her outfit.

"Oh Junko-chan, you look so mature," Masami giggled.

"Good, that's what I was going for," she replied as rummaged through her sock drawer for stocking.

With a sigh, Masami started to get dress in silent.

"Miss Masami," Junko said interrupting her train of thought, "I know why I'm worried, but why do you have a worried look?"

"Oh it's nothing, just…" she had to think of good excuse, "stressed about that calculus exam coming up."

"Oh… I may not be good with numbers, but we can ask Natsako to help us with that," Junko said with a smile as she reached for her shoes, "Isn't it lucky that we ended up in all the same classes? Well, almost the same classes 'cause you're in orchestra and string quartet and I'm in jazz band and trumpet ensemble."

"Yeah, it is nice," Masami smiled as she zipped up her dress. She chose to wear a brown dress to match her knee high boots and a red shirt. She pinned her bangs back as Junko tied her hair back with the ribbon Masami bought her at the beginning of the school year.

"I know the pink doesn't really go with this outfit, but I still like," Junko giggled, "I want to show your grandmother how much I appreciate you as a roommate."

"And I feel the same way with you, Junko-chan," Masami replied as she pulled her head through her sweater. She reached on her dresser for the peacock feather brooch and pinned it through the sweater.

"You ready?" she asked her smallest friend.

"As I'll ever be," Junko said as she linked arms with Masami.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Otoya was strumming away at his guitar. He wanted to get this song right. It was going to be his way of confessing his feelings to Haruka. There was one road block her couldn't get pass.

"How come nothing rhymes with orange?" he mumbled to himself. He tore out the paper out of his notebook and tossed it to the floor.

"I hope you'll pick up this mess," Tokiya said as he kicked one of the many discarded paper ball, "What are you trying to do?"

"Just, you know, writing a song," Otoya said as he tried to control the blush that was coming to his face.

"Your honey colored eye shine like a golden ray of hope. You're as sweet as a honey bun, honey?" Tokiya read, "Well this is lame."

"Shut up! I know that already!" the red head shouted as he threw a pillow at his roommate.

"That's not necessary," he replied dodging the pillow.

"UGH! I give up! I'm never going to get this right!" Otoya put his guitar in its case, grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. Tokiya stayed behind and started looking through the pieces of paper that were crumpled on the floor. It wasn't like he was doing a terrible job at writing this song. Once Tokiya started putting the lines together, he realized who Otoya was writing about. Eyes of honey, hair like the sunset, smile as tender as a lamb, and a heart of gold, this was Haruka he was writing about. He grinned to himself. Poor guy was as love sick like Natsuki was last year. This was expected anyways, the way he would follow Haruka like a pet. Otoya would do anything to please her, so that's why this song had to be perfect. With a sigh, Tokiya took it upon himself to fix his friend's song.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Junko felt herself fidgeting the whole time they were waiting for their tea to be served.

"Junko," said the elder lady at their table, "I believe that spoon is clean enough. Anymore and you'll wear a hole into that napkin."

"Oh, whoops," Junko blushed as placed her spoon on the place mat and then went on aligning it perfectly.

"Is she always like this, petto-chan?" the elder lady asked Masami.

"Only when she's meeting someone new, Oba-chan," she answered her grandmother. Junko was so nervous. Masami's grandmother had a regal air about her. She wore her hear up it a tight, neat bun that was held up by traditional chop sticks. Her kimono was a dark purple silk and it was adorn with a peacock in the left corner with its tails fanned out which would put anyone in a trance. With a loud snap, she opened her fan, bringing Junko back to reality.

"So Junko Sato, I feel as though I've heard our last name before," she said eyeing the petite brunette over the rim of her glasses, "You wouldn't happen to be related to Aika Sato, the singer?"

"Yes," Junko replied as her eyes grew bigger with excitement, "She was my mother. Oh she was so beautiful and her voice was so lovely. The way she used to seeing Billy Holiday was amazing."

"As in the singer? Junko-chan, you never told me that," Masami said as she raised an eyebrow

"It didn't seem important. My momma died ten years ago after she gave birth to my little brother, Kei. It hit Papa pretty hard," she replied as she looked down at the tea cup that was sitting in front of her, "Papa stopped playing piano completely when that happened. My grandparents came up to help, because my sister and I were too young to take care of Kei. I guess that's why I have some of these habits. My grandmother would make me wash dishes over and over until they were spotless. My papa is much better now though. He's been somber for three years now. Won't even look at that stuff and he hopes that when I graduate from Saotome, that we'll start a family band in honor of my momma."

"Splendid idea, Junko," Oba-chan replied with a kind smile before taking a sip of her tea, "Masami says that you play trumpet. Are you top in your studio?"

"Yes, ma'am," Junko said as she blew on her tea to cool it off.

"Oh Oba-chan, you should hear her play," Masami said, "She is amazing. The jazz band is playing "Suzukake No Michi" and Junko-chan has the clarinet feature for trumpet."

"Ah, those were the days. I remember when your grandfather took me to a swing club when he was courting me," she said as her eyes twinkled, "That was our song you know."

Junko felt herself relaxing more and more as the treat continued. Oba-chan was so warm and kind and the stories she told made Junko's heart warm.

"Oh and the way Kyoyo-chan and I would joke about how our children would marry each other so we would be sisters for life," she laughed, "Who thought it would work with our grandchildren instead."

Masami choked on her tea. "Oa-chan," she coughed, "Why don't you have more tea?"

"Oh how wonderful," Junko said, "Who is getting married?"

"Why Masami is," she said with a smile, "She is the eldest after all. And Kyoyo's grandson is so polite and well mannered. He has this noble air about him. When Masami met him for the first time she was so shy, I thought she was going to run under my skirt."

"And who is Kyoyo's grandson?" Junko asked.

"I believe he goes to your school too. Do you know a Masato Hirjikawa?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Otoya sat under a tree with his ear buds in listening to his music, trying to get his mind off of that disastrous attempt to write a song for Haruka. He so lost in thought that he didn't know that Natsuki had sat next to him.

"Enjoying this fall weather?" Natsuki asked after he pulled one of Otoya's eye buds out.

"Just trying to get away," he sighed. He turned off his mp3 and placed it in the pocket of his jacket, "Natsuki, how did you get Mari to go out with you?"

"Oh," he said looking shocked. He never thought any of the guys would ask, mostly because Ren was too busy trying to get the others to bet on how long they will last and the fact that Mari was a pretty intimidating person in general.

"Well, it was at the beginning of the last year when Saotome was holding a rap competition, mostly to try and stop some of the fights that would break out…

"_Gooooooooooooodddddd afternoon student body of Saotome Academy!" Shining Saotome said on the mic as he got the students pumped about the contest that was about to take place, "You picked them to compete and only one can named top rap star of Saotome, so let's meet our competitors!"_

"_Shou, why did you drag me to this?" Natsuki whined, "There is nothing fun about this, what so ever."_

"_Oh come on, Natsuki," his small friend nudged him, "Lighten up. This is going to awesome! Besides I want to see that girl Junko keeps talking about lose so I can rub it in her face that Takumi is the best."_

"_Girl? Why would a girl want to compete in something as aggressive as this?"_

"_You know her, Mari Ono. She's like the top athlete in this school. She's on the basketball team," he replied, "but there is no way she's going to make it pass the first round."_

_Natsuki looked up at the jumbo screen and saw a slender figure with eyes as cold as ice that would make anyone stop dead in their track. Her skin was a sun kissed making her hot pink hair that hung loosely around her face pop more. She looked as if she was ready to take out her opponents like a lioness ready for the kill. She was dressed in a light blue track suit while all her competitors were in ridiculous outfits._

"_She's kind of scary looking," Natsuki whispered as he sunk in his seat._

"_Twenty competitors representing your homerooms! Who will be the first to fall? Push the randomization button!" Shining Saotome shouted. Pictures scrambled on the screen as the crowd cheered for their favorites. _

"_Ono verses Koga!" Shining cheered, "Take your position!"_

_Mari stood at one side of the stage while a boy with an oversized hat and coat stood at the other. Before taking the microphone, Mari pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Girls were cheering her opponent to win as he blew kisses at the crowd._

"_You know, sweet heart," he said into his mic, "You could save yourself the embarrassment and quit."_

_People in the crowd either laughed or booed him, but Mari just smirked and said, "Game on."_

_Round after round, Natsuki watched as Mari won each rap battle. He was impressed by her confidence. She was like a black widow, she teased her opponents, make them think they had a chance of winning before going in for the kill and hitting them where they hurt the most. She knew where their weaknesses were. Natsuki was never one for rap, but he found himself cheering for her after she passed the semi-finals._

"_Hey! You can't cheer for her!" Shou yelled._

"_But she's doing so well, how can you not cheer for her? She watches each round with intensity. She knows where the slip ups are and that's why she is good," Natsuki said with excitement, "She is amazing!"_

"_The moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived everyone. In one corner we have the funny man, Takumi Suzuki!" Shining Saotome boomed and the crowd cheered for the Elvis look-a-like, "And in the other, we have the deadly viper, Mari Ono."_

_The room roared that the walls were vibrating. Natsuki squealed just as loud as the girls next to him as Shou tried to hide himself under his hat._

"_Challengers! Take! Your! Positions!" Shining shouted. Takumi looked laid back with his hip cocked to the side, arms crossed and an evil smirk across his face while Mari stared at him, trying to read him, seeing if he was really confident or if it was a front._

"_Remember, you each get one chance to prove that you're the best. Two minutes on the clock and by the end, the judges choose who is champion! Ready! Set! Begin!"_

_Takumi began first. After spitting a few lines, __the crowd awed as Takumi got up in Mari's face and turned about. He nodded at her to take her turn. She wasn't intimidated and he was going to let him know. _

_The crowd went nuts when she finished and Shining chuckled to himself at the mention of his name in her bit. Natsuki saw Takumi shake a little. Natsuki wanted Mari to win so badly and began to cheer even louder._

"_TAKE HIM DOWN, MARI-CHAN!" he cried._

_By that time the bell rang it was over._

"_Give it up for our finalist!" Shining cried and the crowd cheered, "And now judges, have you made your decision."_

_Ringo Tsukimiya got up with a piece of paper in his hand and took the microphone from Shining Saotome. "You two worked very hard, but there can only be one winner and we choose Mari Ono from Class B winner of Saotome's first rap battle!"_

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

_It was late in the afternoon when the girls basketball team finished changed after practice. Mari was still getting congratulated by many of the members of the team as she walked to her locker. Finally they left so she could gather the rest of her stuff. She was looking forward to getting some privacy until she turned around and saw a tall, blonde, green eyed boy standing by the lockers behind her, looking at her like an adoring fan._

"_Uh… Hi," she said trying to be friendly, but she really didn't want to sign another autograph._

"_You were so cool!" he squealed as he approached, "Well I mean you are cool, but the way you were able to pick them off like that was amazing. You were like violent bard!"_

"_Umm… thanks… I think?" Mari replied as she began to walk away as she slung her backpack on her back._

"_AH! Cute!" Natsuki cried as he noted the penguin keychain on one of her zippers, "I've been looking for this one. Where did you find it?"_

"_Shh… Keep it down will you!" Mari said as she covered his mouth. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening, "I can't have anyone finding about this. Here, just take it if you want it so much."_

_Mari undid the keychain off her backpack and handed it to him._

"_Oh I couldn't take this," Natsuki said trying to give it back._

"_Just take it. I don't want it anyways," she grumbled as she began walking away, "See ya."_

_Natsuki watched her walk away until she disappeared around the corner. He looked down in his hand at the penguin keychain, smiled, and went after her._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"_I don't think she likes you that much, Natsuki," Shou said at lunch, "Why don't you just give up? It's been almost two weeks since she hit with that book in the library and she has been giving you death glares for the longest time."_

_Natsuki had been dying to get close to Mari Ono since the competition. It was almost time for the winter break and he had yet to make any progress with her. Anytime he tried to talk to her or give her anything he thought she might like, she just ignore him or tell him to beat it. She was so cold, but when she wasn't looking, Natsuki saw that Mari was just like any other girl her age. She helped a baby kitten find its mother, doodled teddy bears in her notebook, and eyed all of the cute shops in town, but that was only when she was alone. Mari would never let her friends see her like this and with the title of top rapper in Saotome, she had become more dark and serious. All he wanted to do was make her feel like she could be more of herself._

"_I don't want to give up, ochibi-chan," he replied to his friend as he watches Mari get up from her table to throw away her trash. Natsuki figured this would be the best time to get her alone._

"_Hey, where you going?" Shou called, but Natsuki was gone before he got an answer, "Maybe she did hit him harder than I thought."_

_He found her in one of the mix rooms, with her computer working on one her projects._

"_CUTE!" he squealed as he pointed out the rice ball sticker on the corner of her keypad._

"_That's it," she grumbled as she slammed her laptop shut and spun around in the chair to face him, "What do you want?"_

_He stared at her blankly._

"_Well," she said crossing her arms, "I'm waiting."_

"_Uh… Hi," he said as he smiled at her._

"_Ugh! What? What have I done to you that makes you want to terrorize me?" she asked as she rub her temples, "You've been to ever basketball game I've had with those obnoxious signs. You follow me around wherever I go and try to show me all this cute stuff when I'm around my friends. It's embarrassing enough that everyone calls you papi-chan whenever they see you following me. Don't you have a life or something?"_

"_Yeah, but it's just nice to know there is someone I can talk to about this stuff," he said as he took the chair next to her and pulled out a magazine, "Have you seen this cell phone cover? It has a little chick on it. I thought you might like it for a Christmas present."_

"_No, no, no!" she shouted as she got out of her seat, "Look uh… What's your name?"_

"_Natsuki Shinomiya," he said as he gave her a look of adoration._

"_Shinomiya, this has to stop. I have a reputation to keep up here," she said as she became stern with him, "It's nice… well more like creepy, that you're thinking about getting me a present for Christmas, but you can't be doing this. I'm top rapper in this school and Dee Jay. Not to forget that I'm the only rapper and Dee Jay that is a girl here. How do you think it would look if I was walking around with a chick phone case?"_

"_But you don't have to be tough!" he exclaimed as he sprung out of the chair and grabbed her arms, "Just because you like cute stuff doesn't change the fact that you're good at spinning records. Look there's that winter ball coming up and I was hoping you would umm…" He froze. He felt his face go red and his throat become dry. He was melting under her intimidating glare._

"_The answer is no," she said as she grabbed her stuff and left the mix room._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"_I heard that Mari was pretty harsh towards you, Natsuki-san," Haruka said as she comforted one of her new friends at Saotome, "I'm really sorry."_

"_Well can you blame her?" Ren snorted as he leaned against the piano, "Shining Saotome put her in charge of music for the ball. After the waltz is down, Shining says a few words about the school and then the real fun begins. She is only allowed a few breaks I've heard. By the way, have you anyone to go with little lamb?"_

"_Oh Tomochika and I are going together as friends. She says it's more fun to go alone anyways," Haruka replied with a smile._

"_Figures," Ren said as he rolled his eyes._

"_Don't worry about it too much, Natsuki," Tokiya said, "There's always someone else to go with."_

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"_Mari, I'm going to head back to the dorm," Kohaku said to her, "You'll be okay, right?"_

"_Yeah, yeah. Go get your beauty sleep or whatever," her grumbled as she began to pack her equipment up._

"_Humph… Someone is a bit touchy," her red headed roommate replied as she left Mari to finish her work._

_Mari grumbled and mumbled to herself about this being the longest, most painful night she had ever worked as a Dee Jay. She didn't even get to play any of the fun songs she wanted to play. Most of them were slow couple songs or annoying pop ones. With a heavy sigh, she locked up her equipment and started to leave when she heard music being played from outside on the balcony. There she saw Natsuki standing in his suit with that same adoring smile he had whenever she saw him._

"_Shinomiya? Why are you still here? Everyone has gone home," she said as she approached him._

"_I figured if you wanted to protect your reputation, then you would have to do the things you like in private," Natsuki said as he took her hand and twirled her around, "Mari, I want you to be able to feel like girl every once and a while."_

_He grabbed her other hand, placed it on his shoulder, placed his hand on the small of her back and began to dance with her. Mari was speechless. _

"_Is that all you want?" she asked in a whispered as they kept dance, trying to hide her blushing face from him. He nodded with a smile._

"_Thank you," she said as she laid her head on his chest._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"That's it? But I thought you guys didn't start dating till the start of the summer?" Otoya asked.

"Well that was nerve racketing for sure," Natsuki said, "When I did it I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my chest. The thing is, if you truly love someone, you don't hide it from them, because you never know when someone else is going to come along."

Otoya looked at his love hazed friend with intensity. He was happy with the way things turned out with Mari.

"So have you guys kissed yet?" he asked and watched as Natsuki turn beet red.

"No," he whimpered, "She won't even hold my hand."


	6. Please Keep This Secert

Masato sat in the library, studying for his upcoming exams when he heard someone take the seat next to him.

"You sly dog you," Ren laughed.

"What do you want, Jinguuji?" he asked not looking up from his work.

"How come you didn't tell me you were engaged? I would have liked to know ahead of time so I could plan," he said with a smirk as he leaned against his elbow.

"How… How did…" Masato didn't finish his sentence as he stared at his roommate.

"Oh Junko was rather mad today in jazz band. When I offered her a shoulder to cry on, she told me everything," he said smugly as he winked at Masato, "I have to say, your grandmother has excellent taste."

Masato could only glare at him as he slammed his book shut. He gathered all of his things together and left. He didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time he was mad at Ren.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Junko-chan," Masami said as she entered her dorm room. Junko was clean her side of it. She seemed to still be mad at her. "Junko-chan, please don't be mad at me." Junko snorted at her and went on reorganizing her closet.

"Junko-chan, I bought pocky," Masami bribed, "And it's strawberry too."

Junko bit the side of her cheek, trying to resist the offer, but she couldn't help it. Pocky was one of her weaknesses.

"I'm listening," she said as she took the box from Masami. Masami took a seat next to her on the floor. She leaned against the bed behind them for support.

"Masato and I used to be playmates when we were younger during the summers we would spend with our grandparents. Oba-chan was really close with Masato's grandmother. They practically grew up together I think. After they got married, they moved to different parts of Japan. It wasn't until Masato and I were born that they ended up getting in contact again. Oba-chan said it was a sign that this was something that was supposed to happen. They were able to convince both of our fathers that we were meant to be engaged. I didn't know about it till this past summer when the Hirijikawa family requested an audience with my family…

"_Masami, do sit up straight," her mother said, "and try not to fidget so much."_

_Masami could feel her heart racing as the car pulled up the gravel drive. It had been seven years since she last saw Masato. She had remembered him being a bit of a snob, but he did have to sweet voice. She smiled as she thought back to the time she got scared during a summer thunder storm. Masami snuck into Masato's room for comfort. He nearly kicked her out, but instead sung to her until she fell asleep._

"_You still think this is a good idea?" her mother asked her father._

"_Mother says that the family name carries a lot of value," he replied._

"_But there have been other suitors that are worth far more than these Hirijikawas," she sneered as she opened her fan._

"_Suitors?" Masami asked, "What do you mean?"_

"_You're meeting your fiancé today," her father answered staring straight ahead, "That is why we're visiting them today. To prepare you two for what is to happen."_

"_Humph, she would have been better off with pig," her thirteen year old brother, Katashi snorted as he looked dully out the window. She glared at him, but said nothing._

_The car came to a complete stop. The driver got out and opened the door for them. Her parents exited first, followed by her brother and then it was her turn. She really wished she didn't have to wear this kimono, but she had no choice. It was the tradition wear of all Fujimoto women, whether they were wives or daughters. With the assistants of the driver, she exited the car with ease and grace._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

Masato paced in his room as he tried to make sense of the situation that he was in. Was Ren going to keep his mouth shut or was he going to blab about it with every girl he knew? It would be a new angle he could use to get more girls. Masato groaned as he sat on his bed, cradling his head in his hand as he tried to get a hold of himself. He looked at his phone to see if he had any messages. There was one and it was from Masami.

'Sorry. Oba-chan thought I had already told Junko-chan. Want to talk about it after dinner?'

He sighed and closed his phone. He really wasn't in much of the mood to talk to her. He didn't hate Masami for anything. He mostly hated this situation. He hated it from the moment he heard about it.

"_Father, you can't be serious," he said as he looked out the window of the parlor, "You let Sobo talk you into this. It's ridiculous."_

"_It's not ridiculous, it's business. The Fujimoto family is one of the most powerful families in Japan. They've had a prime minister in their family. They build leaders and with their influence, this will help us more than ever," he replied cleaning his glasses, "And I won't have you screwing this up, Masato. Understand?"_

_The double doors open to reveal their butler. He stepped aside and announced, "Ryuu Fujimoto, head of Dragon Prime banks, Harumi Fujimoto, wife, Katashi Fujimoto, son, and Masami Fujimoto, daughter."_

_Mr. Fujimoto was a short man with salt and pepper hair, a white mustache and wore a gray suit with a peacock feather pin on the collar. His wife had hair black hair pulled in a tight bun that made every worry line on her face more predominate and wore a tradition purple kimono decorated with peacock feathers. Katashi looked like a little brat that got everything handed to him just because he was the son of the family. He wore a button up top with a tie and jacket along with a pair of shorts, he also had an identical peacock feather pin his father wore on his jacket collar. Masato could care less about any of them, but it was his sister's comment that drew his attention to the daughter._

"_Wow," she whispered, "She looks like a princess."_

_Masami hair was too short to be pulled back in a bun, so it hung straight and evenly at the ends. Her bangs were pulled back so none of her face was hidden by a hair pin that sparkled in the natural light of the room. She glowed from the soft yellow kimono she wore which had flowers dancing at the hem. Her lips were painted red as if to make them look like cherries. She was more breathtaking then he remembered._

"_Fujimoto-san," his father said as he bowed, "So glad you could make it."_

"_Thank you for allowing us to come, Hirijihawa-san," the short man replied as he bowed as well. The family took their sits as tea was served to them. Masato watched Masami while their fathers made conversations. Katashi nudged his sister and made some snarky comment about her. She glared at him and while her mother wasn't looking, she wacked him in the back of his head with her folded fan._

"_Hey," he growled._

"_One more word from you dear brother, and I'll tell mother about you know what," she warned._

_Masato smiled at this. The Masami he remembered was rather quiet and timid like a doe. It was nice to see that she had a little bite to her now._

"_Now then, Mai," his father said, "Why don't you talk Katashi to your playroom and Masato, you and Masami can go to the garden and walk around for a while. Fujimoto-san, his wife and I have some private matters to discuss."_

"_Why do I have to go with the baby?" Katashi whined._

"_I am not a baby," Mai said sharply as she got up from her seat and walked out the parlor. Katashi followed as well. Masato stood and offered a hand to Masami. She accepted it and the two walked out in silence._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"Wow, must be rough having a brother like that," Junko remarked.

"He's in that stage where he wants to be treated like an adult, but he doesn't want to act like," Masami sighed as Junko giggled.

"So then what happened?" she asked, "What did you and Masato do in the garden?"

Masami began to blush.

_Masami walked with Masato in silent for a while before finally getting the nerve to say something._

"_So Masato-san, how have your studies been?"_

"_Well, thank you," he replied as they appeared a bench. He let her sit first before taking the seat next to her. Silence again. It was strange. They had known each other since they were five. They took baths together and yet they found it hard to make conversation with each other._

"_Remember that time we were at Oba-chan's home and we got lost it her garden," she giggled._

"_Yeah, you went chasing after a butterfly and I followed behind," he said as he leaned back and rested an arm on the back of the bench._

"_And that time we planted flowers," she said as her eyes light up._

"_You dragged me into that," he replied. He noted that her hands were on her lap now. She looked down, removed them, and blushed as she looked away._

"_Umm… Yeah… we had some fun times as kids," Masami said as she opened her fan to cool herself on._

_He nodded in response. "And maybe more now that we're getting married," she whispered still not looking at him._

"_Is something wrong, Masami?" he asked as he tried to get her to look at him. Masami got up and walked over to a maple tree. She really couldn't look him in the eye. It was weird seeing him grown. His shoulders were broad now and his chest wide. He smelt like a warm autumn afternoon and his eyes may still be firm, but they made her heart beat faster just looking into them. She had to face the truth that they weren't kids anymore and that bringing up memories like that wasn't going to make this situation any better._

"_Masami," he said. She turned to find him stand over her. She was trapped between him and the tree. Why were his eyes always so intense? She felt him grab her hand, bring it up to his lips and kiss it gently. She felt like her chest was going to explode and like he was getting full enjoyment on making her feel this way._

"_Young master Hirijihawa. Lady Fujimoto," called one of the servants and Masami never felt more grateful to be getting away from him._

"AH! SO CUTE!" Junko squealed, "I can't believe how amazing this is for you! I am invited to your wedding, right?"

"Now you want to come?" Masami giggled, "I thought you were still mad at me for not telling you?"

"Well that was before to explained to me the whole story," Junko said as she looked at her with her big brown eyes, "So when is it?"

"I'm not sure. Our parents are handling everything for us," she replied, "For now, I'm suppose to spend time with Masato."

Then her phone went off revealing a reply from Masato.

'Meet me in the piano practice room after dinner.'

"So when are you going to tell the others?" Junko asked breaking her train of thought, "I'm sure Kohaku would love to be 'told you so'."

"No one is supposed to know about it until the official engagement party, so please Junko-chan, don't tell it to anyone else."

"Well… Actually… somebody else might know about it," she said guiltily.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Say you won't tell anyone else," Masato begged Ren at dinner before anyone else sat with them.

"Hmmm… I don't know. My mouth tends to have a mind of its own, you know," Ren said with a sly smile.

"What do you want, Jinguuji?" he asked.

"A kiss from the bride-to-be," he said making Masato choke on his rice.

"You're kidding right?"

"Oh look there Haruka, I'm sure she would love to hear the news," Ren pointed out and began to call for her.

"No Ren, please don't," he begged.

"One kiss."

"On the forehead."

"Lips."

"Cheek?"

"Lips with tongue."

"Fine on the lips, but no tongue. And no longer than a ten seconds," Masato said sternly.

"Meh… that works," and they shook on it.

"Yes Ren-san," Haruka said with a smile, "What is it?"

"Don't you think Masato would make a nice house cat?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Masami walked into the practice room while Masato was putting the finishing touches on a piece he had been working on. Masami felt her heart beat faster as she got closer and closer to him. She tried to steady her breathing in hopes that that would slow her heart beat. He stopped midway through the song and looked at her. She stopped where she was and bowed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your practicing," she said.

"It's all right," he said getting up and stretching, "I was going to stop anyways."

"Umm…" she couldn't look him in the eye, "Junko-chan told me about Ren and how he knows as well."

"He told me," he said as he walked toward the open window, "Come look outside."

The stars shone perfectly as the moon glowed.

"Oh," she said excitedly, "A shooting star!"

"Closes your eyes and make a wish," he said with a smile and she did. He turned her face towards him and placed his lips over hers. Masami was shocked by his forwardness and her eyes shot wide open. She backed away from him.

"Ma… Ma… Masato," she stammered. Masami was glad the room was dark so he couldn't see how red her face was.

"Yes, Masami?" he said coyly as he followed after her. Maybe Ren's behavior was rubbing off after all.

She couldn't speak and soon she found herself cornered and Masato close to her. Her heart was racing so fast she thought she was going to faint.

"Why so bold?" she squeaked.

"I want to be your first kiss," he whispered as he took her hands in his and placed them on either side of her head.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, "Jinguuji promised to keep quiet if he could get a kiss from you."

"Oh," she said.

"Masami," he said, "I know this whole engagement is just a crazy idea dreamt up by two old ladies, but I want to do everything I can to make you happy. Will you let me do that much for you?"

"Yeah," she said, "Umm… Masato… This may be a bit forward… But umm… would you mind kissing me again… Please."

He smiled at her shyness and leaned in to capture those supple lips of hers again. He was so gentle and didn't force himself on her. They started with soft pecks at first before her arms found their way around his neck and his around her waist. She ran her fingers through his hair as she felt Masato tongue slowly enter her mouth. This was a whole new sensation for both of them as they explored one another's body. Masato finally broke away from Masami, but she still wanted more as she place small kisses on his neck and jaw line.

"Masami," he chuckled, "We have to stop before people get suspicious."

"It's okay," she said in between kisses, "Junko-chan will cover for us."

"But what about Jinguuji?" he asked as he looked her directly in the eye.

"You always knew how to ruin the fun, Masato," she pouted.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Haruka chewed on the end of her pencil as she tried to think of lyrics to write for her song. She hummed the melody to herself as she read what she had written so far. She was sure that the guys were going to like this song. She just needed to put the finishing touches.

"Haru-chan!" called Tomochika from across the yard. She looked up, waved at her friend and moved so she could have some room on the bench.

"How are you, Tomo-chan?" she asked as she put her journal away.

"Daydreaming all day. I'm pretty sure I failed my history final," Tomochika sighed as she laid her head on her friend's shoulder, "I should have studied with Natsako. She was done in like ten minutes!"

"Wow… I think that's a new record for her isn't it?" Haruka replied, she looked up and saw Masami and Masato walking together in deep conversation it looked like, "It's nice to see that Masami is fitting in, don't you think so?"

Tomochika looked in the same direction, "Don't you find it strange that Masato has been escorting her around lately?"

"No, Masato is just a gentleman like that," Haruka said with a smile.

"Yeah… I guess that is it," Tomochika said as she watched them disappear from view.

"AH!" cried a small voice. They looked up to find a fuming Junko.

"What's wrong, Junko-chan?" Haruka asked.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong," she cried as she threw her bag on the ground, "That… that… that little beast, Shou, thought it would be funny to take my bunny eraser! He held it high up so I couldn't reach it and to add insult to injury, he is holding her hostage for the rest of the day! It's not fair!"

"Ah… Junko-chan," Tomochika said as she comforted her friend, "You know we can always set Mari on him. He's scared of her."

"No, I'll ride it out. I can't show fear," she said trying to hold it together, "But what if he uses her? Or drops her into his food? Or chews on her? Or worse, gives her to Natsuki? I'll never see her now!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Any last words, Bun Bun?" Shou asked.

"No! Please! I'll do anything to be back with Junko-chan," he made his voice higher pitched as he moved the bunny eraser on his desk.

"Anything, huh? Even go as far to correct the mistakes on my paper!" he said with a menacing laugh.

"Oh no!" he squeaked as he made the eraser shake as if it was in fear.

"Ochibi-chan who are you talking to?" Natsuki asked as he entered the room.

"Uh… No one," Shou said quickly as he hid the eraser behind his back. Natsuki stared at him blankly as he watched Shou move uncomfortably in his chair.

"What's that behind your back?" he asked as he approached.

"Nothing," Shou replied as he jumped to his bed and tried hiding the eraser under his pillow.

"CUTE!" Natsuki cried and snatched the eraser from him, "I never knew you liked this stuff. Shou, you didn't have to hide this from me."

"Give it back, Natsuki! It's not even mine," Shou cried as he tried to take it back, but failed.

"Not even yours?" Natsuki asked as he tilled his head to look at his small friend and then put two and two together, "You stole it from Junko-chan, didn't you?"

"So what if I did? She was getting on my nerves," Shou said as he pouted.

"She was talking to another boy again, wasn't she?" his tall friend said with a silly smile.

"No!" he cried, "She was just being annoying so I took her eraser as punishment. I'll give it back to her tomorrow."

"AH! It's so cute how childish you and Junko-chan are with each other," Natsuki sighed, "Remember the time she stole your hat and mocked you in the middle of the cafeteria?"

"That's not cute! That's mean! What girl humiliates a guy like that?"

"What guy steals a girl's eraser and calls it a punishment?"

Shou started to reply only to realize that Natsuki was on to him. So what if Junko was talking to another boy in class today? It shouldn't matter, but it did to him and was eating him more and more each day. Why did she have to be so darn cute? Every time he saw her with that cheery smile, he could feel his heart beat faster. He wanted nothing more than to make her smile like that every day, not some tall 'Ryuuya' wanna-be.

"Whatever, Natsuki. I'm going to bed," Shou grumbled as he threw the covers over his head.

**Author's note: Hey, if you're reading this, please feel free to leave a review and let me know how I can improve the story more. Thanks. xoxo**


	7. Size Doesn't Matter

Natsako was sitting in the tutoring room waiting for anyone to approach her for help which no one did. Mostly because the students chose the "help" of the school creep and prevent Kyo-Ho. The boys would come for photos of some of the girls of the student body and would ask the same question as always: "So how big are hers?" It was disgusting and demeaning to all the women that walked on this campus. Although it made her mad, she was envious of those girls. Sure, she was more on the plain side than most girls that went to Saotome, but it would be nice to know that someone was interested in her. She often told herself it was because she was in the room, but she knew the truth and it hurt to stomach it.

The clock chimed six which meant tutoring was over and Natsako could finally get something to eat. She was packing her bag up when Kyo-Ho approached the table she occupied.

"Another afternoon well spent, eh Natsako," he said as he tried to be smooth like some of popular boys in the academy, which was pretty hard, because he played the accordion and had the built of a fat panda.

"If by well spent you mean drooling over most of the girls you have no chance with, then for you yes. For me, it was time well spent finishing this book so I can get a new one from the library," she said dully as she walked to the door.

"Oh come on, Natsako. Lighten up," he said following behind her, "Life isn't always about books."

"My life can if I choose it to be," she said drily. Kyo-Ho was starting to get on her nerves.

"Well look, I've accepted the fact that I have no chance with any of the girls that go to this school," he said slinging an arm around her as they walked down the hall, "Why don't we try this out?"

"Try what out?" she asked as he removed his arm, knowing that he was trying cop a feel at her chest.

"You know… Ummm… dating," he said as he blushed.

"And what are you saying about me? That I don't have a chance with any of the boys that go here?" she snapped. Kyo-Ho tried to answer, but she didn't give him the chance to, "Well for your information, any girl can wear tight clothes, put on makeup and prance around like a dimwit, but it takes a real man to look pass all of that to see the true beauty in her!"

She spun on her heels and walked as fast as she could so she could get away from the pervert.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Mari-chan! You promised," Natsuki pouted as he tried feeding his girlfriend the strange concoction he had prepared for her.

"Yeah, but that was before I found out I've gain five pounds," she said trying to avoid to spoonful of 'yuck' he had, "And weight-ins start for basketball next week."

"Maybe if she ate it, it might help her lose it," Kohaku whispered to Ren and they shared a giggle.

"Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that Natsuki feeds Mari?" Masami asked Junko.

"Nah. You just have to get used to the fact that Mari wears the pants in that relationship," she replied as she sipped her juice.

"What relationship?" Shou nudged Junko, "Mari is so stubborn that they haven't even had their first kiss, let alone held hands yet. If you ask me, he's just obsessed and she is too nice to be blunt with him."

"Oh, but Shou, I thought you would be happy that Natsuki wasn't chasing you around and trying to make you wear dresses and bows," Junko said pulling the rim of his hat so it lowered over his eyes.

Suddenly a loud thud was heard at the end of the table making the group look up to find Natsako sitting with them as she started shoving food in her mouth.

"Whoa, Natsako," Tokiya said taking her rice bowl away from her, "Slow down before you choke yourself. What's got you in a foul mood?"

"Nothing," she grumbled as she tried to poke her straw through her juice box.

"Ah and yet there is little duck," Ren said as he grabbed her hand and began stroking it, "Now tell Uncle Ren what's wrong so he can fix it for you?"

"So I'm a duck now, am I?" she snapped, "Let me guess it's because of I waddle like one or do I just have a duck-like face?"

"Boy, something got her riled up tonight," Tomochika remarked, "That or she still doesn't like you, Ren."

"Tomo-chan, be nice," Haruka said, "I'm sure Ren meant it as a compliment, Natsako."

"I'm sorry," she sighed as she shoved her tray aside, "It's just been a long day. I've never seen so many brainless pigs in one room before."

"What do you mean?" Masami asked.

"I'm talking about the boys that come to tutoring only to buy pictures of the girls and female teachers that go here. Then they have the nerve to ask the same dumb question they always do," Natsako said, feeling her temper rising again.

"That's awful," Kohaku said, "Do you know whose picture has been requested the most?"

"Miss Masami Fujimoto has been a popular request, but you're a close second," she said dully. Masato spat some of his water out in shock while Masami could only blush.

"Should I ask what the dumb question is?" Masami asked.

"No you shouldn't," Natsako grumbled, "I signed up for this job, because last year everyone was asking me for help on so many subjects. I figured if I was going to help might as well get paid for it. 400 yen an hour isn't much, but it's something. You know he charges a thousand just for one picture and he probably as at least a hundred of each one! And depending on how popular a girl is it's more!"

"Disgusting," Mari answered as Junko nodded in agreement.

"Can't you do anything to stop it?" Tokiya asked.

"If I do, then the school will shut down the tutoring facility. And I really could use the extra money," Natsako sighed, "I'll just suck it up until the end of the school year and then it's off to Juilliard."

"Juilliard?" Haruka asked with a surprised look, "Why so far away?"

"It's one of the finest music schools in the world. I plan to study there and get my doctorate there in music composition and performance. Maybe even play in the New York Philharmonic. I wish to see more than just school and Osaka," she said and that seem to put her at ease.

The table continued conversations until the dining hall was closed. They walked until they had to depart to the separate dorms, but until little Junko made note of the precipitation that touched her nose.

"SNOW!" she gasped, "It's the first snow fall of the season! Come on Miss Masami!"

She took Masami's hand and went bounding into a grassy area. Natsuki followed after them with Shou right behind. Otoya start a snowball fight a little snowball fight with them as Tomochika and Haruka joined in later. Ren took full enjoyment putting some snow down Kohaku's shirt and she chased after him with some snow in hand. Masami took Masato hand and asked him to make snow angels with her and Natsuki called Mari to help build a snowman, which Natsako and Tokiya to themselves. Tokiya cleared a bench off for them to see on as they watched their friends' fun.

"Beautiful, huh?" he asked trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah," she replied, "Almost makes you wished it snowed all the time."

"So Osaka, eh? I never knew and yet you don't have an accent," he said as he leaned back.

"I worked hard not to get one. According to my parents, it makes me look like I hate where I come from, but I felt it made me look less smart," she replied.

"So you do like Osaka?"

"Yes, but I much prefer it here. This feels more like home. My family is more into the producing side of music . You know Yama Records?"

"Umm… They produce all those death metal bands, right?" he asked feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"That's my dad's production company. My older sister is a singer in one of them, but I can't remember. Really popular though," she said acting like this was normal day thing, "But I'm the black sheep of the family, I guess. What they call music, I see it as just pure noise and what I like to hear, they think it's annoying and dull. Not to mention how much of a plain Jane I turned out to be. Oh Tokiya-san, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bore you with my blubbering. Now you must think I'm silly."

"No I don't," he said with a small smile, "I would say you're more of a white sheep in a herd of black ones." Natsako was going to ask him something, but Junko was calling her to join the girls so they could walk back together.

"Well, good night, Tokiya-san," she said as she gathered her things so she could catch up with the rest of the group.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Making lovely conversation with Tokiya, Natsako?" Kohaku teased as the girls gathered in Junko's and Masami room for tea and cocoa.

"Huh," she said snapping back to reality.

"Don't 'huh', tell us the juice details. What were you two talking about?" the red headed beauty pressed on.

"Leave her alone, Fukuda," Mari said while looking for a good song to play for them, "It's none of your business anyways."

"Of course it is. When it comes to my friends lives, I am on a need to know bases," she replied proudly.

"I didn't even know we were friends," the know-it-all said as she eyed her over the rim of her glasses.

"Of course we are, were just not as close as Tomo-chan and Haru-chan are or like Junko-chan and Masami. We're birds of a feather, only I'm a graceful swan and you the awkward goose."

"I'm not really sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult."

"Oh you know what I mean, so come on and spit it out! What did you two talk about?"

"Nothing. He just asked about my family and Osaka and that was pretty much it," she said as she sipped her tea.

"Well that's rather boring. I figured someone like Tokiya would be more exciting," Kohaku responded, "I guess they all can't be winners."

"So do you really know which girls get the most asked about by Kyo-Ho?" Haruka asked. She was rather curious to see if anyone really asked about her.

"Lately they've mostly asked for Miss Masami, because she is the newest addition to our school," Natsako remarked dully, wishing that this subject would just go away, "But if you are asking about yourself, you have been mention a few times as well Tomochika, Mari and Junko."

"Me! Why me?" Junko asked in surprise.

"By being small you have that cute factor about. It's almost like you were still a grade school girl in their eyes. For Mari it's the fact that she is cool, aloof, and that she is 'off the market' as they call it. Tomochika has a 'girl next door' feel and Haruka, though you're not as small as Junko, you have that child-like sense about you. Kohaku is obvious because she is pretty and rich," Natsako said as she felt herself getting annoyed with the subject matter.

"So… Umm… Have you seen… You know… Masato or Natsuki there?" Masami asked feel very uncomfortable with what they were discussing.

"Don't worry Miss Masami," she said with a warm smile, "You'll never have to worry about them or any of the others going anywhere near that creepy, pervert."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Ren this is a horrible idea," Natsuki said as they walked up the stairs, "What if the girls find out we're doing this?"

"Relax Natsuki. No one is going to find out. Kyo-Ho promise that this is a strictly private session for us," Ren said with a sly smile.

"And how much did you shell out for this, Jinguuji?" Masato asked.

"Not a whole lot, I'll just need 6,000 yen from each of you," he said.

"Ssss… Six… What?" Otayo exclaimed, "Bye!" And he tried to make his getaway.

"Oh come on, Otayo," Shou said grabbing him arm, "Aren't you just a little curious about someone?"

"Yeah, but 6,000 each? Isn't he setting his prices a little high?" the red head asked.

"Maybe, but he's making quite a bit of profit for his talents," Ren said as they approached the door, "Remember, we're in this together, right? And not a word from anyone, no matter how guilty you may feel."

They agreed, Ren turned to the door and knocked.

"Password," said a voice from the inside.

"Bijin," Ren quoted. The door opened revealing a small boy with mess hair brown hair and oversized glasses sitting behind large table.

"Stand watch, Ichiro," Kyo-Ho said, "Make sure we are not disturbed."

The door slammed behind them and just left them with the pervert himself.

"Ren-san, I was wondering when you would finally come around," he said, "Afraid of coming alone?"

"Nonsense," Ren said as he approached the table and took a seat, "My friends were just as curious as I was to see what you might have in your inventory."

"Ah. Only the best for top paying clients such as yourselves," he said as he began to reach for his portfolio, but stopped when he noticed Natsuki was in the group, "Uh… He's not here to beat me up, is he?"

"Ha! Heck no!" Shou laughed as he patted his friend back, "You don't have to worry about him. He hasn't even held Mari's hand yet, let alone kissed her."

"Oh good," the pervert said and continued pulling out the photo albums, "Now each color means a different variety of girls. Blue is for the sporty ones. Red is for the mean street girls. Pink is for the cute ones. Purple is for the upper crest, high society ones. Orange is for teachers. Green is for nerds. Yellow is for…"

"What about the specialty ones you were talking with me earlier. The ones you made for the girls that get asked about the most?" Ren asked not really interested in the albums they were presented.

"Depends on who you want, Ren-san?" the pervert asked with a wicked grin.

"Kohaku Fukuda," he said not even breaking a sweat. Kyo-Ho got up and walked over to a shelf. He grabbed a smaller album and handed it to Ren. It was violet like Kohaku's eyes with her name written in gold on the front.

"This is the best one of her personal albums. I won't even let the regulars look at this one," the pervert said, "And I have plenty more of others if you gentlemen are interested."

Ren flipped through the album looking at the various pictures. Some were beautiful profile pictures with her twirling her hair or fixing her makeup in class. There a few of her playing her clarinets whether it was a recital or practicing. There were pictures walking down the hall, eating lunch, and then he got to the gym pictures. He saw how she stretched, ran, and exercised. Then there were swimwear pictures. How the suit hugged every curve she had on her well developed body that he couldn't help but utter those forbidden word he promised himself he wasn't going to say.

"How big are hers?" he asked as a slight blush came to his face.

"The lovely Kohaku Fukuda," Kyo-Ho said with a sly smile, "Most boys have to pay more to find that out, but seeing that you've gone through this much trouble just to look at pictures, I'll tell she's at least a D cup."

"Who else do you have in your specialty albums?" Shou piped up shoving the pink album away.

"Like I told Ren-san, it depends on who you are looking for."

"Junko Sato," he mumbled as he tried to hide his blushing face under his hat.

"Excellent choice, Shou-san. Anyone else want to view a specialty album?"

Natsuki and Masato finally worked up the courage to find out if Mari and Masami had specialty albums too. Otayo was too embarrassed to look in any of the albums, while Tokiya skimmed through the few albums that were already on the table.

"AH! So cute! How did you even get this picture of her?" Natsuki asked as he pointed at the picture of Mari sleeping under a tree, curled up, almost cat like.

"Rather easily actually, Natsuki-san," the pervert smiled.

Masato looked at each picture with great care as if he were looking at works of art in silent until he got to a picture of his fiancée that was in a rather seductive position without her even knowing. Someone had taken a picture of her changing out of her gym uniform without her know. He slid the picture and presented to the boy in charge of this whole session.

"How many copies of this picture do you have?" he asked.

"Just the one, if that is what you're worried about, Masato-san. The very 'special' ones make it in to our specialty albums and only on display for those who are willing to pay the high price to view them," the pervert replied, "I have a strict policy here. These albums and the photos inside them never leave this room."

"How much for this whole album?" he asked as he closed the album and began to pull out his wallet.

"Uh… you can't be serious? Masami Fujimoto's album happens to be the most requested lately. I can't just sell it to you like that," the pervert said taking the photo album.

"Then how much for the photo? Surely you're clients won't care if one photo is missing," Masato said not backing down. He wanted to make sure that no one else saw this picture of Masami. No one else should be allowed to see her this way, not even him.

"Well umm… I'm not sure I've priced this photo," he replied. Masato figured this was one of the photos that a lot the pervert's 'special' clients liked to view.

"Then name your price. Look 10,000 yen here for this little photo," he said as he placed the money on the table.

"Who carries that kind of money?" Otayo whispered to Tokiya behind an album he had in his hand.

"Apparently Masato does," he answered not looking up from the album he was viewing.

The pervert looked at the stack off money presented in front of him like a dog that was staring at a delicous treat. He couldn't resist and Masato won.

"Kyo-Ho," Tokiya spoke up, "You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of Natsako Yamamoto, would you?"

"Yamamoto, surely you jest," he said as he counted up the money in his hand.

"Do I look like I'm kidding, greedy perv?" Tokiya said as if he was losing his patience.

"Natsako Yamamoto isn't really asked about a whole lot, but I'm sure we might have something on her. I mean some of the crazy ones ask about the cows that attend her," Kyo-Ho responded, "Let me do some digging for you."

"Better hurry, because this session is almost up," Ren said looking at his watch.

"AH! Why would you have a picture of Mari-chan like that in this?" Natsuki exclaimed as he stumbled upon a picture of Mari in nothing but a sport bra and running shorts doing what looked like basketball drills.

"She's a C cup if you're wondering," Kyo-Ho said as he looked through the filing cabinets, "As well as Masami."

"No one asked you!" Masato called in defense.

"No, but I know how the male mind works. Even if some of us are a little more out there than others," he said winking in their direction, "Last update on Junko was that she had gone up to a B, Shou-san."

The three were blushing fiercely that they couldn't look at anyone.

"Ah, here we go. Sadly we only have three pictures of this bookworm, but feel free to take one. Free of charge of course," Kyo-Ho said as he handed the pictures to Tokiya. He looked them over very carefully. One was of her studying intensely, another of her taking notes in class, but the last one caught his attention. Natsako was sitting the corner of the library, her hair was down in soft waves, her glasses off, and she was crying over a book she was reading. She looked lonely. It was so different from any time he had seen her around the school. She looked vulnerable, like a bird with an injured wing.

"I'll take this one," he said and the clock chimed telling them that the next class period was going to start.

"Very well, gentlemen. Thank you for your time. I hope this visit was satisfactory to you all," Kyo-Ho said as he bowed, "Please, feel free to visit here anytime you want to."

As they made their way down the stairs, Ren felt like teasing Masato about the photo he just bought.

"Starting your own collection of Mamasi? Maybe you'll be a regular for that pervert with the amount of money you shelled out for one picture."

"At least I wasn't drooling over hers like you were with Kohaku's," he snapped.

"Guys keep it down. If any of them find out that we saw him, it will be our hides," Otayo said as he looked cautiously about the hall, "Last thing we need is to feel Natsako's glare or Mari to punch us."

"Shou-chan, what was your favorite one of Junko-chan?" Natsuki asked.

"I looked at others too," he blushed.

"But not the same way you were looking at Junko-chan," his friend giggled, "It was the one of her in the café outfit she wore for the last school festival, right? I saw how you were eyeing that one."

"Which one?" asked Junko from behind them. They turned around to find the girls standing in the hall they just entered looking either confused or suspicious.

"Nothing nothing at all," Natsuki said nervously, "Mari-chan, are you wearing a new hair clip and it's a penguin how cute!"

"It's the one you bought me last week, Shinomiya," she replied as she raised an eyebrow, "And what did I say about calling me Mari-chan?"

"What have you been up to? Visiting that perv?" Kohaku asked as she watched the boys.

"Now what would give you that idea, my precious rose," Ren said as he slung an arm around her shoulder, "We simply wanted to spend lunch with ourselves is all. Male bounding time."

"Why Ren-san," she said in a fake adoring tone, "I didn't know you played for the other team too. That would explain so much about you."

"You know exactly what I mean, Kohaku," he said as he rubbed his cheek against hers with a playful smile.

"Okay…"Haruka said rather confused, "Anyways. Tomochicka suggested that we should all go out shopping this weekend."

"I figured we could try a Secret Santa type party this year before we leave for winter break," the perky red head replied with a smile, "I even found the perfect location we can hold it at."

"Yeah, and Mari will do music, Miss Masami and I are going to get food while Kohaku said she would cover decorations with Tomo-chan and Haru-chan!" Junko said as she squealed with excitement, "It's going to be so much fun!"

As conversation grew, Shou felt his face heat up at the excitement Junko was generating. All he could think about were those pictures of her with that same expression she had right now. It was unbearable. He just wanted to take her in his arms and talk about how cute she was much like how Natsuki would do to him.

"Shou-chan, are you feeling all right?" Haruka asked as she put her hand to his forehead, "You feel warm."

"I uh… gotta… do that… uh… thing over there. Bye," he said and left in such a hurry.

"Well that was strange," Haruka said.

"Not any stranger then he already is," Junko remarked, but felt a bit worried, "Still that was rather odd of him. Natsuki, did something happen while you all were having lunch together?"

"What? Something? Oh nothing happened. You know what I think it's time for next period to start. Let's go Otoya," he said as he linked arms with Otoya and the two sped off down the hallway.

"Cowards," Masato muttered.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Junko couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened today. Shou actually was avoiding her. He never did that. She thought that his long term goal at Soatome Academy was to make life miserable for her. What was more strange was she actually liked the fact that he pulled on her pig tails every once in a while. At least that was the most attention she got from any of the boys at school. The door clicked open, breaking her train of thought and in walked Masami dusting off more snow.

"Hello Junko-chan," she said with a smile as she piled off her coat.

"Hello Miss Masami. How was your time with Masato?" she asked as she winked at her roommate.

"Oh umm… it was umm… nice," Masami replied as she tried to hide her blush. Masato had been making an effort for the two of them to have some alone time. Most of it was spent in the library helping each other study, but their special moments were in the practice room when they could barely keep their hands off each other. At least Masato had more self-control than Masami did when it came to that.

"Oh so you two did sneak off to the practice room again," Junko said with delight, "How was it?"

"Well… he umm… seemed a bit… funny," she said as sat on her bed trying to piece everything that happened together.

"Funny? Funny as in 'Ha ha' or funny as in acting strange?"

"Very strange. It was like his mind was in a different place."

"What do you mean?" Junko asked as she joined her on the bed.

"Well… while we were umm… kissing, his eyes would open in the middle and he would stare as if he was trying to see something," Masami explained.

"Like if you had something on your face?"

"I'm not really sure, but when I asked if something was wrong, he just told me to leave, like he was in a foul mood or something."

"Maybe he was just having a bad day," Junko suggested.

"I hope so…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Masato just got back from the shower when he saw that his roommate had that teasing smile on his face as he eyed him over his magazine.

"That was a rather long shower you took," Ren said, "Things got a little steamy tonight with the timid Masami."

Masato tried to ignore him as hung his towel.

"You know it's the quiet ones you have to look out for. They have a tendency to be a bit wild," he continued, "Beside any longer in the shower and you might as well be a prune."

Masato could feel himself getting agitated, but he wasn't going to give in. Beside if Ren knew of his embarrassment he would never let him live it down.

"You tried to figure out if Kyo-Ho was right or not, didn't you?" Ren asked as he leaned his elbows against his knees.

"I don't know what you're talking," Masato said as he laid down his bed, "Masami and I just talked and that was it."

"Of course, because when you two talk it's with your mouths usually on top of one another. Seems like good conversation, too," the blonde replied as he winked.

"How would you know? Do you spy on us, Jinguuji?" the blue haired boy asked as he pulled out his book.

"No, although that might be interesting though, but I did notice that you came back with pink lipstick on your collar. You must have missed when you were cleaning yourself up," he said and saw his roommate eyebrow twitched. He had Masato now, "So could you tell or did you try to see for yourself?"

"I couldn't bring myself to do it," Masato sighed finally looking his roommate in the eye.

"Why not? You're going to be spending the rest of your life with her. Best to get a jump start, right?" he asked.

"She's not like any of the other girls you chase after," Masato replied as he stared at the ceiling, "It's like the same way you feel about Kohaku. Given the chance, you would treat her differently than any of girl you've been with."

Ren kept quiet to think about Masato had said. Given the chance? As if Kohaku would even give him a second look. Compared to all the other offers she has from the male part of the student body, she would be set for life. He would only be holding her back from what she truly wanted to be. Although he knew that it would never happen, it didn't hurt to ruffle up her feathers every once and a while.


	8. Santa Baby

"Draw a name from the hat. Don't look at it until everyone has one," Tomochika said as she held out the hat for each member to pick a slip of paper. She had a plan for each 'couple' to spend time together, hoping that the plan would work.

"All right everyone look, but don't show yours to anyone else. That is the person you'll be buying a present for," Tomochicka explained. Each glanced at the name they were going to buy for. Some had confused looks, others had a straight poker face, and a couple of the girls giggled at who they had to buy for.

"This will be interesting," Junko giggled.

"What? Did you get Masami?" Shou asked coyly.

"No! I mean… You don't know that. It could be you for all you know," Junko replied with a matter-of-fact tone as if trying to act a little more mature.

"If it was me, you would a little less enthusiastic about it," he said smugly.

"If it was Shou, she would have already been complaining," Toyika muttered and Otoya snickered.

"Okay so now we have to partner up, but not with the person you're buying for," Tomochicka said.

"Partner up? Why?" Kohaku asked, "I thought this was a secret Santa as in, no one is supposed to know who you're buying for?"

"Because who likes shopping by themselves? That's just boring so everyone pair up boy, girl, boy, girl," Tomochicka said as she tried to hurry along everyone before someone caught on what she was doing.

"Why boy, girl?" Natsako asked.

"Think about it. If you have a boy's name, wouldn't you want to know what to buy from a boy's perspective?" Tomochicka suggested.

"But Natsuki is into girly things, so that makes no sense," Kohaku remarked.

"They're not girly, they're cute. Big difference," Mari said coming to the defense of her boyfriend.

"Oh really? And how would you know that, Mari? You're more like a tomboy," the red headed beauty challenged.

"And that fixes everyone!" Tomochika called after she paired everyone off without them noticing.

Otoya was standing next to Haruka, Tokiya was next to Natsako, Natsuki was excited to be with Mari, Ren decided to sling his arm around Kohaku, Masato found himself next to Masami, and Shou was paired with Junko.

"Wait… Tomo-chan that leaves you out," Haruka noted.

"Oh does it? Darn it. Oh well better get a head start on those decorations. Have fun. Bye," she called and ran off.

They all stood there confused. The awkward silence was building so Natsako decided to break the ice.

"I think we should double check to make sure we're not paired off with someone we have," she suggested and turned out it worked out well.

"Ugh…" Junko moaned, "Miss Masami, you and Masato should walk with us."

"Then Masami would know her present," Shou said as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Stupid! You weren't supposed to tell!"

"Well if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have told!"

"You didn't have to say her name! You could have just said it was a bad idea!"

"Of course, and have you get on my case about not liking Masami or something like that."

"How about we just grab something warm and try to figure out this situation," Haruka suggested, "Before those two kill each other."

"Agreed," everyone else said.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tea, cocoa, and coffee were served to them. Junko had cleaned her spoon vigorously before using it in her coffee. Masami tried calming her down and offered to share her cookie with her.

"So what are we going to do?" Haruka asked.

"Well I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to spending quality time with my lovely rose. Right Kohaku?" Ren said as he tried to kiss her cheek, but Kohaku pushed his face away.

"Oh it's going to be lovely," Kohaku said as she cringed.

"Well what else is there to do?" Masami stated, "It would be too much trouble to try and exchange partners."

"We could take a vote!" Junko chimed in, "Those in favor of changing partners raise your hand!"

Only Junko, Shou and Kohaku hands went up.

"Really Miss Masami?" she said glaring at her friend.

"I kind of want to spend some time with Masato," she whispered.

"Well, Junko, whether you like it or not, you are stuck with Shou," Natsako said before sipping on her tea.

"Come on, guys! There's no need to torturing us like this," Shou whined.

"No, this will be good for you," Haruka said having an 'ah-ha' moment, "By spending time together, you'll two be forced to interact with each other. Maybe this help with the relationship you guys have."

"There is no relationship!" the smallest members of the group yelled.

"No, Haruka is really on to something. Perhaps by being alone you two will be able to work out all the issues you between you two instead of hiding behind Natsuki or Masami," Natsako stated, "This will be helping you two relay more on yourself than others to help fix the problems you two have with each other."

Shou and Junko went silent. Neither one of them had ever wanted to be alone with the other with the fear that something might happen. Something neither one of them were ready to happen.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Cute! Mari-chan look!"Natsuki squealed as he looked at the sleeping puppies in the window.

"Ah," she replied with a soft smile. Natsuki loved this side of Mari. It was softer, kinder, and rather feminine. He looked her over. She wore a heavy black coat with a brown scarf and gloves, ski pants and snow boots. On her head she wore a blue snow hat he had found for her at a sale of one of her favorite stores. It had a little penguin dancing on the right side. Natsuki pulled his hands out of his coat pocket and began blowing on them to warm them up. Mari looked up to see him doing this.

"Idiot, why didn't you bring gloves?" she scolded as she glared at him.

"Shou was so excited about going out, he began rushing me this morning. I guess I forgot to grab a pair," he said with an apologetic look.

"Well, keep them in your pocket. Last thing we need is for you to get sick," she said as she began to walk, "So who do we shop for first: Otoya or Ren?"

"You seem upset that you got to be his secret Santa," Natsuki noted as he caught up with her.

"He's a pig and the way he plays with Kohaku's feelings makes me sick," Mari grumbled.

"Kohaku's feelings? I don't understand," he replied with a confused look, "Are you saying that Kohaku likes Ren?"

Mari cursed herself. Kohaku had made her promise not to tell anyone that she had feelings for the flirt.

"Shinomiya, you have to promise you won't tell anyone. If Ren finds out, it will kill her and more than likely he will use this to his advantage. Kohaku has had enough trouble with him already," she begged, "Promise me you won't tell."

"Mari-chan, you know all your secrets are safe with me," Natsuki said with a kind smile. Mari felt her stomach flip-flop as she looked up at his kind face. She loved his innocence and how faithful he was to her. It was strange to know that Natsuki would even take a bullet for her. She couldn't help but smile back at him which made Natsuki blush a little.

"Come on, Shinomiya. Maybe we can look in that store for some ideas," she said nodding over to a store across from the pet store.

In silence the couple enjoyed each other's company. Mari decided to give Ren a new dart board while Natsuki was still trying to think of what to get Otoya, but his mind wondered back to the conversation he and Shou had before they left the dorm.

"_Forget the mittens, Natsuki, because today is the day Mari is going to hold your hand," Shou said as he stopped his roommate from putting on the pair._

"_But it's cold outside," he replied as Shou took his wooly mittens from him._

"_Well, if there is one thing a girl can't stop is her nurturing side. Once she sees how cold your hands are, she'll take pity on you and try to warm them up with her hands and BOOM you two are holding hands," Shou said with pride._

"_I don't think that will work with Mari-chan," Natsuki responded with a worried look._

"_Don't worry. Ren does that trick all the time. It has to work."_

Natsuki really wanted to know what it would feel like to have his finger intertwined with Mari's, but he wanted to respect the boundaries she had set for them when they started dating. True, there were days when he would over step them like pummel her to the ground with a hug, but it would be nice to be a little intimate with her. They left one store to look in another. Her free hand was out of her coat pocket, if he could just reach it.

"Shinomiya, what are you doing?" Mari asked as she looked up at him.

"I was… Ummm… I was just… Ha," he said as he nervously rubbed the back of his head, "Mari-chan, are you happy with me?"

"What do you mean?" she asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"I mean… We've been dating for a while, but we've never done anything umm… intimate…" he said bashfully.

"If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting…" she said starting to rile up, but he intervened quickly before things got out of hand.

"I'm not talking anything like that, Mari-chan. I mean… Like holding hands or is there a reason you don't want to," he said as he looked at his feet, "is because you're embarrassed by me."

Mari felt guilty. She had her reasons for keeping some distances from her boyfriend, but maybe the distance she was keeping was a little too much at times. It was time for her to show some sign of affection towards Natsuki.

"Shinomiya, your hands are going to freeze if you keep them out of your pockets," she scolded again as she took them in her hands as she tried to warm them up, "Maybe I could hold one while you put the other in your coat."

Natsuki looked shocked as she took off her glove so she could entwine her small hand in his large one. Mari couldn't look him in the eye for the fear that her blush would intensify if she did. But it didn't matter to Natsuki, he was finally getting what he had wished for a long time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Haruka was eyeing some sporting goods. She wasn't really sure what to get Mari. Whenever she got an idea, she would look at the price tag and then realized that it probably wasn't a good idea. Otoya observed her. He didn't want to show it a whole lot, but he was really happy to be with her. It would be nice to spend some alone time with her. He noted how cute it her intense look was on the soccer balls.

"Gloves! She's a goalie over the summer!" she exclaimed and walked over to a rack of goalie gloves. Disappointment washed over her face when she saw how expensive they were, "And I figure Kohaku would be the hard one to shop for."

"You can't give up now, Haruka," Otoya said trying to be encouraging, "Maybe you should look in a different store. Natsuki has bought her cute stuff before, like that shirt with the chick on it."

"That was one of his old shirts he gave her. She cut the sleeve off she it would be looser when she was at basketball practice. He was rather upset about it," Haruka said remember when she saw Natsuki in a corner of the classroom claiming that Mari hated him, "Luckily she bought him a new shirt."

"Yeah, but still, Natsuki buys her stuff like that all the time. I think a lot of them are penguins. Maybe you can get her a cell phone chain with a penguin," he suggested with a smile.

"You know, now that I think about it, she does use a penguin pencil in class. It's funny cause she got mad at Kohaku for taking it from her one day," Haruka giggled, "So what are you thinking about getting Tokiya-san?"

"Probably some vocal books he keeps talking about. They're supposed to show you how not to strain your voice or something," Otoya said as they exited the sporting goods store, "Or maybe I should get him a gag gift, like maracas and a big hat."

Haruka giggled as Otoya continued of thinking of different things he could get Tokiya. Those two couldn't be more different than night and day, but it was nice to know that they got along. When she had met them for the first time, Tokiya seemed to be annoyed with some of the comments Otoya would make, but they grew closer as time passed and when their group finally went on tour, Otoya and Tokiya were acting like brothers by then. The way Otoya acted was like a puppy that was just happy to be around people and Haruka adored that about him also the fact that he stood up for her when she was about to be kicked out of Saotome Academy. With a smile, she decided to link arms with him and led him to the next store over that sold music. Little did she know that Otoya was blushing.

After Otoya bought his gag gift and Haruka found a penguin plush, the two sat on a bench outside the store they left.

"How much more time do we have?" he asked.

"About an hour and a half," she said looking at her watch.

"Hmmmm… What to do?" Otoya asked as he pondered to himself.

"You could tell me about the song you were working on at the beginning of the semester," Haruka said with excitement, "How is it coming?"

"Uh… It's coming. Not ready just yet," he said with a nervous smile. The last thing she needed to know was that Tokiya was the one that was helping him perfect it for her.

"Oh… I'm still looking forward to hearing it though," she said as she smiled up at him, "I'm sure when you're done, it will be one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard."

"I hope so," he said to himself.

"Hey look an arcade!" she said with excitement as she pointed at the store with flashing lights, "Let's go!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What to buy? What to buy?" Ren chanted over and over as he looked in store front window. Kohaku was getting annoyed with how slow he was being. She just had to get stuck with him. It was as if someone out there was punishing her for whatever she did to make them upset.

"What would you buy for Junko-chan?" Ren asked trying to make conversation with her.

"I don't know. A stepping stool?" she suggested as she browsed through a book stand that was outside.

"Stepping stool? Now that's just cruel, Kohaku," he said as he leaned against a wall.

"It's not cruel, more like helpful so she can reach the top of shelves without hurting herself," she said in a matter-of-fact tone not looking at him. He chuckled at her comment and replied, "I guess you're right. What are you looking for?"

"I have Natsako and I need to find her a book," she said flipping through a book only to land on a scene where a couple was in a tight embrace. She slammed the book shut and placed it back on the stand, trying to forget what she read.

"Do you know what she likes to read?" Ren asked as he began looking with her.

"No, but a book is a book. I'm sure she'll appreciate the fact I tried," Kohaku said as she flipped through another.

"Is that so?" Ren asked with his trademark smile and flipped open the book he had in his hand, "There was a soft glow of the moon's lights over the bed they were sharing. His fingers danced along her side as he nibbled on her ear. She squirmed as she tried to fight back to urge to vocalize her delight. He was going to win one way or other, so his hand went lower and lower, reaching her forbidden flower and made her cry…"

"REN!" Kohaku yelled as she smacked his arm with a book she had in hand. He looked and found she was blushing fiercely from his reading.

"Why would you read such smut in public? Children could hear you and the last thing we need is you planeting disgusting ideas in their heads," she scolded.

"But my sweet rose," he said in a husky tone as he brought his face close to hers, "You said that a book is a book."

"Why are you so mean to me?" she asked trying to avoid his eyes, but his hand was on her cheek, gently bringing her back to look at him.

"Possibly for the same reason you're mean to me," he said with gentle smile, "Come on. Maybe the people who work here know Natsako. They might be able to help us out."

He walked ahead of her. Kohaku hated this power Ren had over her, not that she would ever let him know about it. The day she let him know the feelings she had festering inside of her was the day she had given up the fight to be free. After getting aid from one of the employees, Kohaku began searching for the authors Natsako was so fond of. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Ren browse through some of the books in the fiction section. She would have never guess that Ren was one for reading, but maybe there was more to him than a pretty face. When she found one of the authors she was searching for, she scowled when the book was on a shelf she couldn't quite reach. Ren looked up from the book he was skimming and saw that she was having trouble.

"Here," he said from behind her, "Let me help you."

"No, I got this," she said as she continued to struggle.

"Kohaku, you're going to knock down some of those books with it."

"No, I won't. I got… AH!" she cried as the books came toppling down, but none of them hit her. When she looked up, she saw that Ren had blocked most of them from falling on her.

"Are you all right?" he asked. She tried to find her voice, but he was so close to her that she found it hard to say anything. He towered over her and he had her cradled in his arms so gingerly yet firm. There was something comforting about it and yet frightening about it. He smirked and leaned his face closer towards her, "Do I get a reward for saving your life, fair maiden?"

"Oh look, there that book," she said as she grabbed one of the scattered books on the floor and shoved him out of the way, "Ren-kun, do be a dear and pick these book while I pay. Don't take too long."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tokiya and Natsako had been walking in silence since they left the café. The only sound was the crushing of the snow under their feet and the low buzz of people walking by them. Natsako adjusted her glasses and looked up at Tokiya. He was really handsome. He had a strong look to him that any girl would be willing to swoon for him. She loved his blue eyes, the way his hair flipped to left of his face, but most of all, how kind he was to her. She remembered when she first started at Saotome how she didn't have any friends, because she excelled academically and when they found out she was the daughter of the heads of Yama Productions, the teasing and name calling got worse, but Tokiya never was a part of them. Most of the time, he was the ones who was breaking them off. She didn't really get to know Tokiya until Haruka came. It was something that Kohaku had said that made her build up the courage to make her presences known.

"_If any girl is going to try and get any of those guys attention, they have to let them know they're there," Kohaku said as she fixed her makeup in the mirror. Natsako was hiding in one of the bathroom stalls._

"_What makes you think that would work?" Mari asked as she dried her hands off._

"_Oh please, Mari, don't be silly. I know you want your precious Natsuki back," she said slyly._

"_You don't know that," she growled, but from what Natsako could see, Mari was blushing._

"_Listen, you just got to let him know that you're still here. Flip your hair… Well maybe not that, you could hit him in the back with your basketball or something and say it slipped," the violet eyed beauty giggled, "Just do something that will get you noticed."_

From that, Natsako became class representative and even helped out with that silly talent show.

"So Natsako," Tokiya said breaking their silence, "What do you think I should get Kohuka?"

Figures he would get the prettiest one out of their whole group.

"Well, she's self-centered, arrogant, rude, flirtatious, and is very persuasive," she stated.

"Ouch, seems like someone you don't like," he said.

"I tolerate her, but only in small doses. I don't like it when she brags about what her dad gets for, but she is a part of the group I hang with so I guess she is all right," she said as she rolled her eyes and Tokiya chuckled.

"What are you thinking about getting Shou?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure. What does he like?" she asked as she stared at the paper in her hand.

"Maybe a new hat," he said as he placed one on her head, "What do you think?" She looked in a mirror at herself. It was pink with a wide rim and was adorned with an assortment of flowers and a ribbon.

"I don't think he would like this," she said as she placed it back on the rack, "But it is an idea. I think the rim of his is a little frayed."

She examined each rack carefully. "You wouldn't happen to know his size would you?" she asked.

"No, but he probably has the same size as you," he stated as he looked at an accessory stand, "Maybe this necklace would suit Kohaku."

Natsako felt a twinge of jealous in her stomach at the thought of Tokiya buying Kohaku jewelry, but she was after all she was prettier than her. Maybe if Tokiya gave Kohaku the necklace it would be a sign of his affections towards her and he'll probably ask her out after their little Christmas party. Who was she to judge? Tokiya was allowed to date whoever he wanted, but that didn't stop her from trying to make sure he kept his options open. She took a dark blue fedora with a red ribbon trim on it and placed it on Tokiya's head.

"Hmm…" she said as she looked him over, "I don't think that's your look."

"You're not supposed to be shopping for me," he said as he lifted an eyebrow to her.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to see if anyone could pull off that look and I guess Shou has you beat," she said, taking the hat back, "But I think it would fit Shou and Kohaku likes violet, by the way. You should get her these earrings."

She held up a dangling pair. "She says that they make her eye color 'pop' more," Natsako grimace.

"I'll keep that in mind," he chuckled as he made his purchase, "I'm sure Shou will like the hat too."

****

"Junko, are you done yet?" Shou whined as she looked at thread on the display.

"Humph," Junko sneered, "At least I'm taking my time to figure out Masato-san present unlike you who rushed to buy Miss Masami tea."

"What? You said she liked tea," he said as he looked into his bag.

"I said she _might_ like tea, but I gave you other options to choose from," she growled, "If you had listened to the others instead of buying the first thing that came out of my mouth."

"Fine. What else can I get her? We'll look in other stores after this for them," he sighed.

"Why should I help you?" she snapped as she placed a hand on her hip as she eyed him.

"First you tell me my gift sucks and now you don't want to help me. Come on woman! Make up your mind!" he shouted only to get hushed by the store owner again.

"If you two don't stop your arguing, I'll kick you both out of my shop," the older woman said behind the cutting counter.

"Please forgive my friend. He has a tendency to be short tempered," Junko said as she insulted Shou at the same time.

"At least I can reach the top shelf without asking for help," he snapped.

"Hey! Just because you're 3 inches taller me, doesn't give you the right to joke about my height," she snarled.

"I'm Junko-chan. I'm so cute and adorable, but I can't ride the big kid rides at the park because I'm a little dwarf," he mocked.

"That's it! Out! Out! OUT!" the old woman shouted, "Whatever you have in that basket, buy and get out of my shop! I can't have you scaring off my customers."

Yet another store they were kicked out of. Junko wasn't even able to finish the gift she was going to make for Masato and Shou had to find more than just tea for Masami. Both were too angry to talk to the other after having another embarrassing argument. Shou decided to sit down on a bench while Junko looked over a map to see if there were anymore craft stores around.

"Junko, please sit down. You've been on your feet all day. Take a break will ya," he said as he made room for her.

"Can't we have at least an hour left and I need to finish. You stay if you like, but I'm going to keep heading onward," she said not looking up from the map and decided to walk ahead, but he grabbed her wrist making her stop.

"Come on, Junko. Don't do something stupid."

"What is with you, Shou?" she snapped as she looked at him with her hands on her hip, "First you tell me to hurry up and now you're telling me to sit down. Do you do things just to irritate me? What have I done to you to make you want to terrorize me?"

"I'm just looking out for you is all."

"Look out for me? Why would I need someone to look out for me? I've never needed you to do it before so why now?"

"Forget it. Let's just go," he grumbled as he got up from the bench and began to stalk off.

"Hey! I'm not done with you," she called after him and jumped in front of him to block his path, "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he tried to get around her.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Ever since you had lunch with the guys you've been acting different," she said as she scowled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said trying to play it off. He didn't want to explain himself to her.

"Yes you do. You've done everything in your power for the past week to avoid me and now we're together and you can't make up your mind if you want to be nice to me or not. You won't even look at me," she said as she took hold Shou's arms, "I'm worried about you, Shou. I know we've never really gotten along, but I honestly can't stand how much distance you have put between us. For whatever I did or say to you, I'm sorry. Okay, so can we go back to the regular bickering we do and not this over the top stuff we've done today?"

Shou remained silent. He was trying to hold back everything that had been building up inside of him, but he couldn't. It was too much anymore and there was no stopping it now. Before he knew it, he had hold of her face and was kissing her on the lips. Junko was startled by this act and pushed him away. Shou knew he had no right doing it and the look on her face told him everything he needed to know.

"Shou," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," he replied, grabbed his bag and took off down the street. He just wanted this day to end.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Masato had just made his purchase on a new journal for Haruka while Masami still looked over the various key chains the store had. He watched as she made a conscience attempt to find a gift for Natsuki.

"Better hurry, Masami," he said as he approached her, "We have about a half an hour left before we have to meet up with everyone."

"But I can't decide. There are so many things I could get him," she said as she walked away from the rack and out the store with Masato, "What do you think I should get him?"

"Cooking lessons," he remarked and Masami giggled as she nudged him on the arm, "He can't be that bad."

"He is," Masato said as he took hold of Masami's hand, "This is nice, you know?"

"What is?" Masami asked, enjoying the fact that she was able to be close to Masato without having to be judged and questioned by the others.

"This," he simply said as he held up their interlocked hands, "I just never imagined it would happen though."

"Why do you say that, Masato?" she asked a little concerned.

"Well, different backgrounds I guess. My father always told me that you were on a much higher level than I was and that being mere playmates was all we were going to be, but then when the engagement was brought up I thought that there had to be a mistake somewhere."

"Would you have not wanted me if there were no engagement?" Masami asked as she pulled him to a stop. He stared at her for a moment. She was truly beautiful in her own way. It was a very delicate kind of beauty she had. She shone like a beacon in the night. Her tenderness and kindness made her beauty shine more than any other girl or woman he had ever met.

"Masami, you worry too much," he said as he kissed her forehead, "Come on. You still need to find a present."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tomochika looked at her watch again. 'Hmm… You would think they would have a sense of time,' she thought to herself, 'Oh well, at least they're having some quality time together. Oh Tomo-chan, you are a smart one. Pairing them up was the best plan you could have made.'

"Tomo-chan!" called Haruka, who ran to meet her with Otoya close behind.

"Haru-chan, did you get everything you needed?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I just hope Ma… I mean my secret Santa likes it," her cheery friend said as she giggled.

"Oh… I'm sure they will. Now," Tomochika said as she lowered her voice so Otoya wouldn't overhear their conversation, "Did anything special happen?"

"Special?"

"You know… With you and Otoya?"

"No… Was something supposed to happen?" she asked as she tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"Hey, here comes Ren and Kohaku," Otoya said as he waved to the approaching pair.

"Sorry it took so long. Someone had to stop and get a girl's number," Kohaku said as she glared up at her flirtatious partner.

"And someone had to talk a few compliments out of boy that held the door for her," Ren replied as he looked down at her with an agitated look.

"Strike two," Tomochika muttered to herself, "It could only get worse if… Oh no. Junko-chan, where's Shou-chan?"

"He uh… wasn't feeling well and went back to the dorms," the small girl said as she avoided eye contact from everyone and parked herself on a bench.

"This can't be happening," Tomochika said as she raked her fingers through her hair.

"Tomo-chan, are you all right? You don't look so good," Haruka said as she showed concerned for her friend.

"What's she flipping out about now?" Tokiya asked as he and Natsako rejoined the group.

"Probably about how one of her many diabolical plans didn't work again," Natsako remarked dully as she joined Junko on the bench.

"Oh Junko-chan," said Masami as she and Masato returned, "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled.

"UGH! I knew this was a bad idea!" Tomochika yelled as everyone stared at her, "That's it! Never again, I swear on my mother's grave, that I will ever, EVER meddle in anyone's love life! You people are hopeless! HOPELESS!"

"Tomochika, will you keep your voice down," Mari said as her and Natsuki walked up to the group, "People are starting to stare."

They all stood there with their mouths gaping wide open at the site. There was Natsuki with his hand in Mari's.

"What?" Mari asked as she raised an eyebrow and Natsuki blushed.

"YOU GUYS ARE HOLDING HANDS!" Tomochika cried with joy as she brought them into a tight hug, "Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

After the two were able to wriggle free, Natsuki was greeted with 'congratulation's and pats on the back while Mari was bombarded with squeals of joy and questions.

"Really? I just held his hand," Mari shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"But Mari, this means you're more comfortable with Natsuki now!" Kohaku said with glee, "Maybe next time you two will have your first kiss. Maybe under the mistletoe." She winked up at her tall roommate as she blushed. The group was ready to go, but without Mari noticing that Natsuki had a melancholy look on his face.

"Why the long face, Natsu-chan?" she asked teasingly, trying to get use to the pet name he asked her to call him.

"I just wished ochibi-chan was here to see it," he said as he kicked a pebble, "Plus, it's cute how you call me 'Natsu-chan'"

"Well," Mari replied as she laced her fingers with his again, "Looks like he'll just have to wait until Monday to see this." She looked up to him and gave him her trademark sideways smile and he blushed.


	9. All I Want for Christmas is You

Junko tried everything in her power to get out of going to the Christmas party, but Masami begged her to come because of how long the winter break was going to be. So Junko occupied her time aliening cups, plates, napkins, the punch bowl, the chairs, and anything else she could get her hand on. Everything was straightened and re-straightened and straighten after that before Kohuka banished her to the corner of the room they were using.

"I swear she's mental," Kohaku said as she help Tomochika hang a streamer.

"She gets that way when something is bothering her," Masami said after she opened a box of candy canes to put on the tree, "She's been like that since the shopping trip, but she keeps telling me that everything is fine."

"FUKUDA! What did I tell you about messing with my music playlist?" Mari scolded.

"Oh come on. I put some mood music on there. All you had was some guy name Mat something or other and some guy named Bing," Kohaku said as she climbed down from the ladder, "Honestly, who would name their child that?"

"Nat King Cole, you moron," the pixie hair girl grumbled, "And what you put wasn't mood music. Most of it is this pop crap."

"And what's wrong with that?" the red hair beauty argued, "Mariah Carey happens to be very popular."

"Ugh! Forget it. You're a lost cause anyways," Mari said as she walked away, trying to figure out what she was going to with all this new music that was placed on her computer.

"I could help you reorganize that, Mari," Junko said meekly from the corner she was banished to.

"No that's okay. I got this, squirt," Mari said as she waved her off. Junko just continued to sit in her corner, not making a remark back at what Mari had just said.

"Junko-chan, aren't you going to say anything to Mari?" Haruka asked as she and Masami approached her.

"No, it's fine. I'll just sit here and count the ceiling titles," she said as looked up, "They're not even all the right length you know."

"Oh Junko-chan, please tell us what happened that day," Masami begged as she kneeled beside Junko and took her hand in hers, "It hurts me to see you like this."

"If I do, will you all promise not to tell?" Junko asked finally ready to confess.

"Of course dear," Kohaku said as she raced over to hear the news. Once all the girls were in earshot of what Junko had to say, she began to talk.

"Well, as usual, Shou and I were arguing the whole time we were together. It was so bad that we managed to get ourselves kicked out of every store we were in. I know we've had our spats, but not as bad as they were that day. So when I finally confronted about him… well… long story short… He kissed me," she confessed as she blushed, not looking at anyone.

"WHAT!" Kohaku gasped, "And you were keeping this from us? How dare you, Junko!"

"Fukuda," Mari said as she smacked her roommate in the back of her head, "Back off will you. You're worse than a vulture."

"Am not!" she retorted back.

"Guys! As much as I would hate to interrupt your lover's quarrel, can we focus back on me?" Junko cried, "I've been freaking out for these past couple of weeks. I've been avoiding Shou for the longest time and now I'm cornered! What am I going to do?"

"Junko, I know this may be overwhelming, but what are you going to do?" Natsako asked as she tried to be the logical one of the group, "You can either spend the rest of your time here at the academy afraid of someone or you can try to make the situation better. If you need, we'll set a time for you guys to be alone so you can talk it out."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Masami asked as she gave Natsako a worried look, "What if they just bicker and get nowhere?"

"Then I shall be in charge of supervision," Kohaku said boldly, "It may be a dirty job, but it's the least I can do for Junko-chan."

"Please, all you want to do is eavesdrop," Mari said as she tugged on Kohaku ear.

"Then Natsako should do it," Haruka suggested, "She is willing to look out for anyone no matter what the cause is. She has nothing, but the interest of people's heart. Natsako, we can always count on you for anything."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Natsako said feeling a little embarrassed.

"Please Natsako," Junko begged to the gray eyed know-it-all as her brown eyes got big, "Please be there for when I talk to Shou. I don't think I could live if I had to go at it alone."

"Fine," she sighed as the group cheered.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The music hummed in the background as the group of friends made small talk and told jokes. Natsuki was happy to be holding Mari's hand again while Otoya told an outrageous story to Haruka and Tomochika. Masami kept Kohaku company as Ren and Masato traded insults with each other. While Natsako was getting more punch, Junko approached her with a worrisome look.

"He's just sitting in the corner, not talking to anyone," Junko stated, "Do you think he's still upset?"

"Possibly if he has made one snarky comment to you or anyone else in the room," she said dully, secretly eyeing Tokiya, who had joined Otoya's conversation. Natsako hated being put in these types of situations. She was debuted the problem solver among both the boys and girls group. If it wasn't for her, Natsuki would still be too chicken to ask Mari out and Mari would be too stubborn to give him a chance. If it wasn't for her, Haruka would have never come back to Saotome Academy and the boys would have just gone the rest of their time here hating each other, etc. If something happened it was time to call on Natsako.

"_Well, she is the smart one after all,"_ Kohaku commented one day which made her more irritated anything else. Just because she did the work, didn't make her a genius.

"Natsako, I'm scared," Junko whispered as she looked to her four-eyed friend for comfort.

"Don't worry," she said with a calm smile, "You won't have to do anything until we've all exchanged gifts."

"Secret Santa time everyone," Tomochika announce with a cheery smile, "Come on! Let's gather around and see what we all got."

"But Tomo-chan, you didn't get a secret Santa," Haruka said.

"Don't worry your pretty head, Haru-chan. I drew my own name," she said as she held out a little bag that was decorated with snowflakes and overflowing with tissue.

"Gee, and I thought Kohaku was self-absorbed," Mari commented as she threw her roommate a wicked smile.

"I heard that, Mari!" Kohaku shouted as she took her seat in the circle.

"You were meant to," she said with a smug look, knowing that she was getting under the red headed beauty's skin.

"You mustn't scrunch your forehead, my delicate rose. That will cause wrinkles," Ren said as he tried to sooth her.

"Can it, Jinguuji," she snapped as she slapped his hand away from her shoulder.

"Looks like you just pricked your finger on her thorn," Masato said with a smirk as Masami giggled at his comment.

"All right, that's enough from you guys," Tomochika said as everyone joined in the circle, "Now, who wants to go first?"

Haruka volunteered as she handed Mari a big bag that had a penguin dancing on it. Mari reached past all the tissue that was stuffed in it and pulled out a giant stuffed penguin.

"If you squeeze his belly, he makes a noise," Haruka said with pride. Mari was too embarrassed to do it as Kohaku fell to the floor in laughter.

"Wow, the cool Mari Ono gets a stuffed animal that makes noise," she laughed as Ren and a few other snickered.

"Well Mari," Tomochika said, "Why don't you go next?"

Mari shoved the wrapped box into Ren's lap. Once he opened, he thanked her for the lovely new dart board and handed his gift to Junko. Junko got a few CDs of one of her favorite jazz groups. She then gave the customized sewing kit she made to Masato. Masato gave Haruka the new composition journal he bought. Then Otoya decided to volunteer next and placed a large sombrero on Tokiya head and handed him the matching maracas. After Tokiya grumbled an "I hate you" and took the silly hat off his head, he gave Kohaku a lovely scarf, which she was more than happy to model for everyone. Kohaku then gave Natsako a book from a series she was intensely reading. After she was done being shocked that Kohaku actually got the right book she needed, she hand Shou a decorated hat box which he was happy to rip it open. The hat she purchased seem to lift the bleach blonde boy's spirits a little as he gave Masami a charm bracelet that was adorn with an assortment of flowers. After she giggled about her gift, she gave Natsuki a stuffed chick that was almost the same size as Mari's penguin.

"It also makes noise too when you squeeze it," Masami said as she sat back next to Masato and Junko.

"Oh, listen Mari-chan!" Natsuki said with excitement as he squeezed the belly to make it 'peep'. Laughter filled the air as the friends shared their gifts with others. Shou finally seemed happy too as he stood in the middle of a picture Kohaku and Masami were taking. Junko wasn't ready for this to be over, but when she made eye contact with Natsako, she knew it was now or never.

"Shou," she said after he was done taking the picture, "Can we talk?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They stood in the hall not saying a word to each other, let alone making eye contact. It seemed like everything else was more interesting than the person in front of them.

"Ummm… I like your new hat," she said as she looked at her feet.

"Thanks," he said as he looked down the hall. This was so awkward. He could feel the tension thicken as they continued to stand in silence.

"So say what you want to say," Shou sighed as he finally found the courage to talk to Junko.

"Huh," she said as she looked at him with confusion.

"You were the one who said we needed to talk," he said as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest.

"Well you were the one who kissed me," she snapped back as she glared at how nonchalantly he was acting about this, but took a couple of deep breaths before she let her temper get the best of her, "Shou, why did you kiss me?"

"Felt like it," he shrugged as he refused to look her in the eye. Junko approached him and turned his head to look at her. He could feel his heart beating faster as he stared into those big brown eyes of hers. He wanted to run, but his legs didn't want to move.

"Shou, please. I don't want to run in circles to avoid you," she begged him, "I want us to be friends again."

"I think I already screwed that up," he sneered as he walked past her to look out the window.

"Then let's figure out what we are," she said as laid a hand on his shoulder, "There is no need to rush into something that neither of us are ready."

"You don't get it, do you?" he said feeling himself getting angry as he turned and pulled Junko into a tight embrace, "I want this. I want us to be more. I've always wanted it, but I was too stubborn to see it. There is something about you that just gets under my skin, but at the same time wants to just hold you. Protect you."

He let her out of the embrace, but not from his arms as he continued, "I want you to feel the same way. Tell me. Do you, Junko-chan?"

"I… I… don't know," she said as she blushed, "This all happening to fast, Shou."

"I didn't want it to be sudden either. Trust me," he said letting her go and putting his hands in his pocket, "You don't have to give me an answer right away, but don't take too long. You never know what the tides of change will bring."

He gave her that bright smile she had miss seeing so much as she gave one in return.

"I promise," Junko said as she held out her pinky. He looped his around it finishing the promise. It wasn't what Shou wanted from Junko, but it had to do for now. He wasn't going to let her go so easily.

"Let's get back to the party before Natsuki and Masami get worried," he said as he nodded toward the door.

"You go ahead, Shou," she said, "I'll be in there in a minute."

He nodded before closing the door behind him. Junko fell to her knees as she muffled her cry. This was too much for her to handle. Shou liked her a lot. Her head was spinning, she felt like she was going to be sick the way her stomach was crapping. What was wrong with her? She never felt this way before. It was all strange and foreign and yet exciting. How was she going to face Shou now that she knew the truth? And now he was expecting her to give an answer. This was just going to make things more complicated.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Ren yawned as looked at his watch. Ten minutes till midnight and the party was still going as Otoya broke out the karaoke. Ren laughed as his red headed friend dedicated a song to his roommate. He looked over to one corner to see Natsuki and Mari sitting together with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her as they seemed to be having a deep conversation. From another part of the room, Shou had stuck an ice cube down a dowsing Junko's shirt and she got up to chase him with a cup full of ice. Across the room, he saw Masato and Masami listening to one of Kohaku's stories about the many travels her father sends her on. Masato looked rather annoyed at her for following him and Masami all night long, so Ren decided to help his roommate out.

"My sweet rose, why have you ignored me all night long?" he asked as he slung an arm over Kohaku's shoulder.

"Because you looked so lost, I didn't want to disturb you from finding the exit," she said as removed his arm from her shoulder, "Just so you know, it's that way."

"So, what is everyone doing for their break?" he asked, ignoring her remark.

"Oh, I'll be with my grandmother," Masami said with a smile, "It's what I've done as long as…"

But Ren interrupted her by kissing her on the lips right in front Kohaku and Masato. When he released her, she was blushing fiercely, Masato looked ready to kill him, and Kohaku cup was slightly crushed in her hand.

"You were standing under mistletoe," he pointed out above her, "I figured it was the least I could do seeing that Masato wasn't going to take advantage of it."

He winked at her which almost made her faint if Masato wasn't there to catch her. Masato gave him a deadly glare as he walked Masami over to a chair to sit down.

"Now that they're gone," Ren said turning to face Kohaku, "How about you kiss me now? Better not let this mistletoe go to waste."

Kohaku just smirked and splashed the last of her punch in his face.

"You're a real pig," she snorted and made her way back to the punch bowl.

"Humph… Everyone is a critic," he said as he made his way to the nearest sink.

Some more time past, before the unexpected happened. Kohaku got a really wicked idea in her head. She knew what would even the playing field between her and Ren, she just had to pick the perfect victim. She eyed every boy in the room as she sipped her punch. Shou would be a no. The last thing she needed was Junko scolding her about how ill-mannered she was. Natsuki was a definite no. Mari would kill her or worse. Otoya was too innocent for her taste and Masato would just be a stiff. So that left Tokiya, which would be perfect now that she thought about it. She would be making Ren jealous by kissing a fellow classmate that he had to see every day and thanking Tokiya for the lovely gift he gave her. So after making her mind up, she looked in her makeup compact and appealed a little more lipstick to her lips. With a flip of her hair, she sashayed her way over to where Tokiya was sitting and on her way over she grabbed a discarded piece of mistletoe.

Tokiya was observing Ren and Haruka singing together on the karaoke machine when he saw Kohaku approach him.

"Hey Tokiya-san," she said with a sexy smile, "Enjoying the party?"

"Yes. I'm glad to see you like the scarf," he noted.

"Oh yes, you have such good taste. Who knew that the aloof Tokiya has such incredible fashion sense," she said as she slid in the chair next to him, "You know what's so much fun?"

"What?" he asked as he cocked an eyebrow at her strange behavior.

"Mistletoe," she said with a flirtatious look as she pulled the decoration from behind her back, "Don't you think so?"

"Uh…"

"Oh come now, Tokiya, haven't you ever wanted to kiss a lovely woman under it?" she asked with a wink and he blushed, "There's no harm in it. Trust me. All I ask is for one kiss and I'll leave you alone."

Tokiya seemed to be very interested in his punch cup in his hand when Kohaku made the offer. He had to admit she was a rather attractive girl, possibly the most beautiful one in all of Saotome Academy and he knew he would be crazy to deny her one kiss. So he found his courage and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ah, Tokiya, you're so sweet, but there is no need to be so modest," she said and pulled him in for a big wet one. He was shocked that he didn't know what to do and when Kohaku let him go his face was almost blood red.

"So cute too," she winked and walked away.

Tokiya was still in a state of shock that he didn't realize he was getting a pat on the back from Shou.

****

"What kind of stunt was that?" Natsako scolded Kohaku, as the girls walked back to the dorm from the long night. It was almost two in the morning and if they stayed out any later, they would be in hot water with Shining Saotome seeing that he knew nothing about this little party.

"I was just thanking Tokiya for the lovely scarf he gave me," Kohaku said dully, "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that your practically half way into his lap and you don't even care that you could have given the poor guy a heart attack!" the four-eyed girl exclaimed only to be hushed by Tomochika, "It's not right what you did, Fukuda."

"Oh give me a break, Yamamoto," the red headed beauty growled, "It was just one kiss. You're acting like I tried to kill Tokiya. Besides, what is it to you?"

"What do you mean?" Natsako asked as she glared her gray eyes into her opponent's violet ones as they stood outside the dorms.

"You've been the only who has been on my case this whole night for what I did and I want to know why?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the know-it-all scoffed as made her way up to her private dorm room.

"Then you won't care that Tokiya asked me to be his girlfriend before we separated from the boys," she said, making Natsako stop in her tracks.

"He asked you?" she said confused as she looked back at the violet eye beauty she was so jealous of as Kohaku nodded at responds.

"Are you telling the truth or just saying it to make me madder?" Natsako asked as she stomped back up to Kohaku, her gray eyes trying to read her violet ones.

"I never lie when it comes to something this serious, Yamamoto," Kohaku said as she glared back at her, "And neither should you. So tell me, does it bother you?"

Natsako took her time to answer that question without letting the truth come out.

"No, it doesn't," she said and turned to walk back to her room, "I hope you and Tokiya are happy together."

And with that she slammed the door behind her. Things were starting to slowly get more and more complicated for the group of friends.


	10. Slumber Parties Aren't Just For Girls

It was the last week before school was let out for the winter break, but there seemed to be a little tension in the group since Tokiya and Kohaku started dating. It was weird, because the aloof golden boy and rich beauty seem to balance each other out so well yet it seemed to set things off kilter. For one, Natsako started making excuses to not hang with the group. She was burying herself more and more into her studies and seemed to purposely alienate herself from the group more each day that had passed since the Christmas party. Ren had started picking up more and more girls as the days went by. It seemed that he had kissed three girls in one day and slipped away unnoticed to meet another. These changes worried Haruka as she talked with Tomochika in the hall.

"It's strange. Natsako just keeps blowing us off more and more each day. And Ren is just a mess," Haruka said as she looked to her friend with a worrisome look.

"Don't worry your pretty head, Haru-chan," Tomochika said as she patted her head, "Those two are just having a harder time adjusting to this new change than we are. Once the break is over, they'll be back to their normal selves in no time. You'll see."

The bell rang and the two made their way to their music composition class. Haruka noticed that Natsako was sitting in the far corner in the back with her head buried in one of her many books. She walked over to see how she was doing.

"Hey Natsako," she said with a kind smile.

"Hey," the four-eyed girl grunted as she turned a page.

"How's it going?" Haruka asked as she tried to make eye contact with her, but was failing miserable.

"Same stuff, different day," she grumbled as she lifted the book closer to her face.

"I was just wondering why you're sitting back here. You normally sit up front with me, Tomo-chan and Tokiya-san," the honey eyed girl said trying to be a little more cheery.

"I felt like sitting back here," she grumbled, "Less distractions."

"Oh… Okay," she said, but decided to make one more attempt with connecting with her friend, "Well, tonight we're having one more slumber party before we go on break in Junko's and Masami's room. Just like we did at the beginning of the year and we've missed seeing you and all."

"Thank you, Haruka," Natsako said as she slammed her book shut and looked up at her ginger hair friend, "But you see I'm leaving tonight for Osaka. My brother, Mamoru, is getting me after classes are done and tomorrow I help out with my family's production company."

"Oh… Well, if you change your mind," Haruka said hoping she would persuade her.

"I would still pass," she said drily as class began.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Thank you again, Tokiya," Kohaku giggled as Tokiya walked her to the door of the girls' dorm, "It's so nice to know you're looking out for me."

"It's the least I could do," he replied with a soft smile.

"Guess I'll see you around," she said as she reached for the knob of the front, but before she turned it, she looked at Tokiya and kissed him on the cheek, "I think I'll miss you over the break."

"Well… Um… I'm just a phone call away… So yeah," he said as he tried to control the blush that was coming to his face.

"I know that," she giggled as she played with the collar of his coat, "I'm just going to miss seeing your handsome face is all. How about I talk to Daddy and see if we can come back from our father-daughter vacation a little early so we can hang out before school starts again? Would you like that?"

Tokiya noted that she was blushing after she made her suggestion. He found it funny how one of the most confident girls in all of Saotome Academy could still have her moments of bashfulness. He felt like he was talking to a middle school girl who have never held hands before. He couldn't help but smile at this site and leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead.

"It would be great," he said and slowly made his way back to his dorms to begin packing for the break.

Kohaku watched as Tokiya walked away. He was really handsome. Sure he may not hold a torch to Ren's model like looks, but the way he was handsome was more from the heart than his face. She could feel herself slowly being healed from the bitterness she held toward Ren. Tokiya had integrity unlike Ren, who was willing to lay his mark anywhere. She felt she was floating as she made her way up the stairs before she was brought back to earth when she bumped into a large figure.

"Watch it will ya," grumbled a voice from the dark figure. There before her, stood a man about six foot or so dressed in all black with piercing all over his ears and a few on his eye brows, nose and lip. Kohaku screamed as she banged on the other girls' doors and tried to Mari to defend her against the stranger.

"What are you yelling about?" Natsako asked as she popped out of her room with her suitcase.

"There's a creep who wants to harm us all!" Kohaku cried, "Get back in your room where it's safe! Better yet, let me in there!"

"Is she the crazy one you complained to me on the phone about?" the dark strange asked as he eyed Natsako.

"That's her," she sighed as tried to stop Kohaku from getting in her room.

"Wait… You know this guy? And I'm not crazy!" Kohaku exclaimed.

"This is my older brother, Mamuro, better known as Soul Shingai from Death Pearl," she said, ignoring the fact that she had insulted the red headed beauty.

"Charmed," Mamuro said as he bowed elegantly and flashed a smile at her.

"Are those umm…"

"Fangs, yes. You see, dear pet, I was born a creature of the night," he said as he towered over the red headed beauty.

"You were born during one of the hottest day of the summer," Natsako said getting annoyed. Did everyone have to hit on Kohaku today?

"Wait… So he's not a creature of the night?" Kohaku asked as she looked at Natsako blankly.

"Nope, those 'fangs' are veneers and he is hair color is really brown not electric blue," she remarked dully as she walked pass her brother.

"Now you just took the magic out of it, you little stiff," her brother grumbled.

"Where are you going?" Kohakau asked as Natsako and her brother made their way to the stairs.

"Home," she said without looking back.

"But what about the slumber party?"

"I told Haruka I wouldn't be able to make it."

"But it's our last night before we go on break. Why would you want to miss a chance to hang out with Masami?"

"I need to be home as soon as possible," she replied getting annoyed with all these questions.

"But it's Masami! You're the one who likes to talk to her about all that boring stuff and besides, it wouldn't be the same without you," Kohaku called at the top of the stairs.

"I'll send my regards," she snapped, "If it will make you feel better, I'll give her a call when I'm in Osaka."

"Sis, if you want to, we don't have to leave until tomorrow," Mamuro said as he eyed his sister with concern.

"No, we have to leave today. No doubt about that," she replied really fast, "Come on."

And with a slam of the door, she was gone.

"What is your problem?" Mamuro asked.

"Nothing," she grumbled as she tried to pick the pace.

"Don't say nothing. Geez, the last time you were this worked up it was that Tokiya kid or whatever," he snapped as he shoved his hands into his coat which made Natsako come to complete stop, "Don't tell, it is him." And she nodded not looking at her older brother.

"Sis, you can't win them all," he said as he took her suitcase from her.

"Why? Why can't it be me?" she asked, feeling like a five year old who had just lost a contest.

"Face it Natsako. What guys like, is not this," he gestured to his sister whole body, "But if you were Izumi Yami, that would be a different story."

****

"Oh Cho-chan, you naughty girl," Ren chuckled over the phone as Masato entered the room. He rolled his eyes as he hung his jacket.

"So tell me, what are you wearing tonight?" he asked which made Masato grimace. There was no way he was going through another night of this and strolled over to Ren's bed, swiping the phone from his perverted friend.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is no longer in use. Good-bye," Masato said and hung up on whoever Ren was trying to seduce now, "You're welcome."

"What the hell, Masato?" he cried as he tried to get his phone back.

"Doing you a favor," the blue haired boy replied as he locked the phone in a draw on his desk, "You start this up and who knows what kind of trouble you'll get in."

"Whatever," his blonde roommate grumbled as he pulled out a magazine to read.

Then there was a knock at the door. Masato opened only to received a pillow to the face.

"SLUMBER PARTY!"Natsuki cried as he lifted the pillow back up in the air. He was standing in his long pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt that adorned a chick in the middle. Shou was in a pair of basket ball shorts and a rather holey shirt.

"What was that for?" Masato asked as he tried to recover from the shock.

"Natsuki heard from Mari that the girls were having a slumber party," Shou started explaining, "So when he asked if the guys were invited, she chewed him out for even thinking that. So after he sulked for almost an hour, I told him we could have our own. We have the room and would like to see you guys there. Otoya and Tokiya said they would go."

"Oh great, so are we going to be braiding each other's hair and talking about boys the whole night?" Ren asked sarcastically.

"Ignore him," Masato said, "I would be happy to come, but I can't speak for Ren. What time is this happening?"

"As soon as you change into your PJs, we're good to go," Natsuki said giving him a thumbs up.

"Then I'll be there in ten minutes," he replied with a small smile.

"Yah who! See you then, Masato!" Natsuki cried as he and Shou ran back to their room where Otoya and Tokiya were already waiting outside.

"You can't be serious," Ren said as his roommate changed.

"There is nothing wrong with guys hanging out, you know," Masato said as he pulled his pajama bottoms to his waist and tied the string so they wouldn't shag.

"But a slumber party? What are we ten now?" the blonde sneered.

"Well, you can come and get your phone back," Masato began to bride, "or you can pout in this room the whole night without it."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I can't believe Natsako just left without telling us good-bye," Masami said as she joined the girls on the floor.

"She said she would call you when she gets to Osaka," Kohaku grumbled as she angrily turned a page in her magazine.

"Hey, no need to take it out on _ageha_," Junko scolded as she took the magazine from the red headed beauty.

"But this makes no sense," Tomochika said, "Haru-chan, I thought you said she was going to come."

"Later she said she would come if anything came up," Haruka said as took a bite of Pocky.

"Yeah! Even her brother said they could leave tomorrow, the little jerk," the violet eyed beauty scoffed as she began to pig on a bag of chips.

"Why are you so riled up, Fukuda?" Mari asked as she looked up from her mp3.

"Don't you see it? She's jealous," she replied as she shook a can of whip cream in her roommate's face.

"Jealous? Natsako doesn't get jealous," Junko giggled.

"Well, she is. Think about it? She's been acting weird since Tokiya and I have been going out," Kohaku stated after sipping on a coke.

"Now that she mentions it, Natsako has been acting different since the Christmas party," Masami said with a worried look.

"See! Jealous!"

"Fukuda, you just like starting drama," Mari said as she rolled her eyes.

"I am not starting drama. She is the one who is being difficult," she snapped.

"Okay. Okay," Junko said, "Let's all calm down before someone makes a mess that can't be cleaned."

The room went silent. It did seem to be a bit empty without the know-it-all there.

"I know!" the smallest member of the party said excitedly, "We should all call her and tell her how much we wish she was here."

They all agreed and Masami dialed the number to Natsako's cell.

"Hello," said the voice on the speaker.

"NATSAKO!" they all cried.

"Oh… Hey guys. What's up?"

"Natsako Yamamoto, I'm so disappointed in you," Masami started, "And here I thought you were a woman of integrity and manners. You should know that a lady never leaves without saying good-bye to all her dear companies."

"Yeah, what she said," Junko chimed in.

"I'm sorry, Masami," Natsako replied, "I was going to call when I got to Osaka, but I guess you guys couldn't wait until then."

"Well serves you right for trying to sneak out on us," Tomochika said.

"We really wish you would have stayed," Haruka replied, "It's not the same without hearing one of your random facts."

"Haha… Ah guys," Natsako laughed, "You'll make me blush."

"You're still a jerk," Kohaku grumbled and earned a smack on the back of her head from Mari who then mouthed 'Don't you start.'

"I know Fukuda," Natsako sneered, "But I have to go. I'm going to hit a dead zone soon. I'll try to stay in touch over the break. Bye."

And with a click she was gone. The mood seemed to be a bit better.

"See Kohaku, Natsako is clearly not jealous of you," Junko pointed out, "She probably had a lot on her mind or something."

"Fine, I'm sorry for getting carried away with that. I promise tomorrow before I leave for home to give Natsako a call and apologize," the red headed beauty sighed as she reached into the bag of chips, "Anyone want some?"

****

"I don't see what Mari-chan was making a fuss over," Natsuki said as he watched Otoya and Shou go head-to-head during a virtual race, "This is fun."

"Of course," Ren sneered as he closed his cell phone, "A bunch of guys, sitting around in a dorm room doing nothing, but take turns playing video games."

"What are you complaining about? You got your phone back," Masato said drily as he handed him a juice can.

"With girls it more sexy. Think about it. They're wearing nothing but scantily clad clothes. They have no disregard for their appearance because there are no boys around and before you know it they're bouncing around having a pillow fight. I mean, really bouncing around," he said as he winked at his slightly blushing roommate, "Don't act like you've never thought about it."

"Ren, is that really necessary?" Tokiya asked as he glared at the blonde flirt.

"No, but for all you know, it could be true," he said with a wicked smile as he tried to get into the cool, aloof boy's head. Soon a phone went off and everyone noticed it was Tokiya's.

"Hello. Oh hey Kohaku, what's up?" he asked as he got up and exited the room.

"Ren, quit it! You're making a mess all over the floor," Masato scolded. Ren looked in his hand and noticed that the can he was holding was crushed in the middle making the juice spill out.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Masato," Natsuki said as he got up from his bed, "Ochibi-chan, where did you put the paper towels?"

"Corner by my bed. YEAH! First place!" he cried, "In your face, Otoya!"

"No fair! Rematch! Rematch!" Otoya cried as he pressed 'restart.'

Natsuki assisted Masato clean up the mess Ren made as Tokiya came back into the room with a smile on his face.

"What did Kohaku wanted?" Ren asked trying to not let his jealousy get the best of him.

"Ah, she just wanted to know what I was up to is all," Tokiya simply said as he picked up a magazine that was discarded on the floor.

"That's it?"

"Yeah," he replied not paying any mind to Ren.

"I think it's great that you're dating Kohaku," Natsuki said as he threw away the used paper towels.

"Yeah, it was funny," Shou snickered, not taking his eyes off the T.V. as he turned the corner into the next lap, "He talked to Mari about it last week and thought it would be fun to double date and she looked like she was ready to bite his head off at the suggestion."

"But then," Natsuki said finishing the story, "She said it would be a good idea… As long as it's not shopping."

"You know, Tokiya," Ren said coyly, "Most guys would consider you lucky. Not many can say that they've won the fair rose's heart, but you seem to sneak pass all those thorns."

"Jinguuji, don't start," Masato warned.

"What are you talking about?" Tokiya asked as he cocked an eyebrow towards the blonde flirt.

"I'm just merely making an observation. So tell me, what makes you so special?" he asked with a coy smile.

"Kohaku is a pretty girl and she's really sweet," Tokiya simply said.

"And what about Natsako Yamamoto or is she just too plain for your taste?" asked the cocky blonde as if he was looking for a challenge.

"What does Natsako have to do with Kohaku?" the dark blue haired boy asked as he felt himself getting annoyed.

"Hey Tokiya, let's have a match?" Otoya called, completely oblivious to the tension that was building in the room.

"Does Kohaku know that you have a picture of Natsako?" Ren asked as he smirked, seeming to enjoy the fact that he had Tokiya cornered.

"Ren-kun, stop. This is supposed to be a fun night," Natsuki interjected, "I thought we swore we were never going to talk about that day."

"Well is it fair for him to date Kohaku when he has his eye on another girl?" the blonde argued as he felt his temper rise.

"I don't have my eye on Natsako," Tokiya replied as he took the controller in his hand, "She's just a friend."

"So you don't have to photo?" Ren asked and once again had him where he wanted. Tokiya's grip tightened on the device in his hand. Otoya tried to console him, but before he could, Tokiya threw the controller down, stormed over to Ren, and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt.

"You really are looking trouble, aren't you? Well get this Jinguuji, she turned me down the first time I asked her for you and that was two years ago. This is my second time asking her out, so if you want to talk smack to me, you better get your story straight. She was in love with you once before and she's not going to make that same mistake," he said as he watched the smug look on Ren's face slowly fade.

"She what?" Ren found himself fumbling over his words.

"Yeah, you chasing after Haruka was the last straw for her," Tokiya said as he let go of the stunned playboy, "She couldn't stand how you would just go between her and other girls."

The room was quiet as Ren tried his best to recollect his thoughts. So he really lost Kohaku for good? He must not have paid my attention to it.

"_Ah, there's my precious rose," Ren said as he wrapped his arms from behind the red headed beauty, leaning most of his weight on her._

"_Ren, get off," Kohaku grumbled as she tried to wiggle her way out of his arms._

"_Never," he whispered huskily in her ear as nibbled teasingly on it._

"_Ren!" she yelled as elbowed him in the gut, "Control yourself will you."_

"_And here I thought we were finally making some progress," he groan as he rubbed his stomach._

"_And what progress is that?" she asked with her hip popped to the side and a hand propped on it as she cocked an eyebrow._

"_I pretty sure you know," he said smugly as lean over her with his face inches away from her._

"_Kohaku," said Tokiya from behind them, "Is Ren giving you trouble?"_

"_Oh Tokiya," she said with a flirtatious smile as she walked up to the dark blue haired boy and stood on her tippy toes to kiss him on the cheek, "Come on. You can walk me back to my dorm. Bye Ren."_

_And with that he watched the pair walk away. It was so strange, but he smirked as he thought that this 'façade' couldn't last very long._

Ren couldn't be in the same room with Tokiya now, so he excused himself to go collect himself. He splashed some water on his face as he tried to regain himself. There was no way Kohaku would just stop caring for him. This had to be one of her mind games she loved to play on him. He looked through his phone for her number and pressed SEND. There still had to be time.

"Ren? What are you calling me for?" her voice asked on the speaker. He heard muffled giggles and screams coming from the background slowly disappear as the sound of a door closing followed.

"I just wanted to see what you were up to," he said trying to be as cool as he could be.

"Ren, I don't have time for your nonsense," she said with an annoyed tone, "Just say what you want to say so I can get back to the party."

"Do you love me?" he asked and there was stunned silence for a minute, "Kohaku?"

"What are you doing asking a stupid question like that, you jerk?" she snapped.

"Tell me," he begged, "Tell me that there is still a chance for us."

"Who put that crazy idea in your head?" she continued to bark, "You listen here and listen good! There never was an 'us', there never will be an 'us', so you a get off the high horse of yours! Not every girl has to fall under your sick spell!"

And then the line went dead.

****

Mari was sent to look for Kohaku after an hour had passed since she left the room to take a call. When she got to the hall, it was completely abandoned. 'Strange,' she thought and then figured Kohaku must have wanted more privacy with the call, so she walked down the hall to the room they shared. She knocked on it once, but there was no response. Mari sighed and opened it. The lights were off so when she clicked them on, she found Kohaku sitting on her bed hugging her knees close to her chest as she stared on her hot pink phone in front of her. Mari could feel an unsettling presence as she made her way to her roommate's side of the room.

"He asked if I loved him," the red headed beauty said softly.

"What did you tell him?" the pixie hair tomboy asked as she joined her on the bed.

"Pretty much told him to go to hell," she chuckled sadly.

"I'm sorry," Mari apologized, feeling bad for her roommate.

"I don't get it. Why does he wait until I'm with someone else to make a move?" Kohaku said, feeling herself getting angry, "Why wait when it's too late?"

"Is it, though?" the pink haired girl asked as she got comfy on her roommate's bed, "How is he to know that it's over?"

"What do you mean?" Kohaku asked as she shot Mari a confused look.

"When Natsuki was chasing after me, I told him so many times to get lost, but he was still persistent to get me to hang out with him. To be honest, I liked the fact that he paid me attention. He made me feel like a real girl, like I was worth being pursued. For you, Ren makes you feel deserved. He makes you feel special, because you're the only girl, beside Haruka, that he has stuck by," she explained, "You have to let him know how serious you are about Tokiya. I believe that you want to move on, but you have to let him know."

Kohaku couldn't take it anymore and erupted into a river of tears. She hated everything about Ren. His cocky air, his arrogance, his sly, flirtatious smile, the way he winked, the way he over powered her and made her feel weak, but most of all, how he stole her heart the first time she met him. It was unfair. He never played by the rules and was always one or two steps ahead of her. He always seemed to pull these kinds of tricks when she was finally out of his grasp, but she was only arm's length away.

"Mari, please don't tell," she begged.

"You know I won't, you dummy," her roommate replied as she rubbed the mess of red.

****

Tokiya was woken up by the buzzing of his phone next to his head. He was still a bit groggy seeing that he didn't fall asleep until three and now he was getting woken at 6:30 in the morning by a phone call.

"Hello," he yawned.

"Oh good, you're awake," giggled the voice on the speaker, "I was afraid you would still be asleep."

"Nope you timed it perfectly," he said still sleepy, "What's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for a little bit, just the two of us," she said, "Daddy is going to be here in a couple of hours to pick me up."

"Sure, just let me wash up. I'll meet you outside," he said as he stretched.

After he dressed, Tokiya headed down the stairs to the front door of the boys' dorm. There he found Kohaku dressed in a coat, legging, and snow boots. He spotted the violet scarf around her neck. She wore a white poinsettia in her red head and a smile on her face. He smiled back at her as he made his way down the steps.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied.

"Come on, we're wasting time, silly!" she exclaimed as she took his hand in hers and they ran off with the snow crushing under their feet.

Ren looked out his window at the lovely pair. He felt a twinge of jealousy stir in his stomach as he watched the site.

"Stop sulking, Jinguuji," Masato said from behind him. Ren turned to face his roommate, who was sitting on his bed sipping on some tea.

"Don't you have a slumber party to be at," he growled.

"I left a note for Natsuki telling him I left early, unlike you, who never came back," Masato said as he glared at the blonde playboy, "What was that about last night? Trying to make Tokiya feel guilty or something?"

"He's just getting played. Kohaku does this all the time," he said as he laid back on his bed and pulled out a magazine.

"I don't remember Kohaku ever being heartless. Shallow, yes, self-centered, maybe, but never heartless," the blue haired boy answered as he took another sip of his tea, finishing up, "I think she genuinely likes Tokiya."

"And what about me?" Ren asked as he sat up in his bed, "What does she think of me?"

"I can't tell you that," he replied as he grabbed his suitcase, "You would have to ask her."

****

Mari looked at her watch again. Natsuki had at least a minute to show up or he would be considered late.

"Mari-chan!" he called as he ran down the lane to her. Once he reached where she was stand, he took his time to catch his breath.

"I'm… sorry… for… being…late… Shou… was… UH!" he groaned as Mari giggled.

"Don't worry about it, Natsu-chan," she said as she patted him on the back, "Maybe over the break you can try running more so you're not out of breath."

"So… What did… you want… to tell me?" he asked in between breaths as he stretched his back.

"Well, I talk to my mom yesterday and we have been going out for a while…"

"YES! Mari-chan! Yes!" he exclaimed, so how having a sudden jolt of energy.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say," she scolded.

"Sure I do. This is the next stage of a relationship. First I asked you out, then you said yes, then we exchange emails over the summer and have a few unexpected meetings as well, next I make you food for the hopes to hold your hand, after that there's a few moments of cuddling and serious conversations all leading up to the moment I meet your family," he explained as he beamed like he won the best prize in the world.

"Uh… Right… So, you'll come over for dinner one night?" she finally asked, stunned that he saw this coming, but then again Natsuki had been paying close attention to how their relationship had been developing.

"Of course, just tell me the date so I can plan," he said with a wide grin.

"Well, I told Mom I would ask, she didn't really tell me a date. The family has been busy with the new twins and all. It's been kind of hectic," she said rubbing the back of her head.

"New twins?" he asked, "As in babies?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell. Last month we had two new additions to our house hold," Mari said as she flipped through the pictures on her phone and showed him a photo, "Next week they'll be a full month old. The one in the green is Kameyo and the one in pink is Katsumi."

"Ah… So cute," he smiled as he looked at the twin babies, "Look at their chubby cheeks and the little tuff of hair they have on their head and those bows are so cute."

"Mari!" called a voice from behind them. When they looked there were two burly men walking over to where they were. Natsuki felt himself get a little intimidated by their presences.

"Akihiro! Akihiko!" she called as she waved at the nearly identical men, "Hurry up will ya! I want you to meet someone!"

They had to be standing at least 6'4" to 6'5". One had golden hair that fell to his shoulders while the other had his shorter and spiked up. They looked like they were just made of pure muscle and could knock over anything that was in their way.

"Hey, baby sis, is this your boyfriend?" the one with long hair asked as he tussled Mari's hair.

"Looks a little puny to me," the one with shorter said as he gave Natsuki a look over.

"Quit it guys. You're going to make him more nervous than he already is," she warned, "Akihiro, Akihiko, this is Natsuki. Natsuki, the one with the short hair is Akihiro and the one with long hair is Akihiko."

"He… He… hey," he struggled to say.

"Nice to meet you, Natsuki," Akihiko said with a big grin as he shook Natsuki's hand vigorously as Akihiro just nodded in acknowledgment.

"So they're your older brothers," Natsuki said as he rubbed his hand that was just crushed, "But I thought you said you had three older brothers."

"Oh he's talking about Kazou!" Akihiko laughed, "He'll be at the dinner when you come over. He'll be bringing his wife and kids too. You'll be meeting the whole family! Even Akihiro's fiancé is coming."

"Oh not Kazou's brats," Mari complained, "They get into everything. Have they met the twins yet?"

"Nah, this will be their first time," Akihiro shrugged, "and they get to sleep with Auntie Mari."

"What? They'll mess up my CD collection and make everything sticky," she exclaimed.

"Well there is no way we're letting them in our room," Akihiko said, "It's bad enough that we've had to share a room since we were babies."

"So your brother, Kazuo, what does he do for a living?" Natsuki asked as he tried to join the conversation.

"What does he do? What does he do?" Akihiko exclaimed, "Mari, how does he not know what Kazou do?"

"He's not really into sports. I just got him to understand basketball," she sighed and then turned to face her boyfriend, "He's the main pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallow."

"He makes them strike out every time!" Akihiko cheered, "He is so focused at every game, it's crazy."

"Even in high school he was intense about the sport," Akihiro replied with a smile feeling a sense of pride.

"So what do you guys do?" Natsuki asked still feeling nervous.

"College Rugby!" the twins chimed in together.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Masami sighed as she looked at the floor. Junko had finally packed everything she was going to take home as she looked at her watch again.

"Only twenty-three minutes and fifteen seconds till we have to say good-bye," Junko said, "It's almost bittersweet. Bitter because I won't see you for two weeks, but sweet because I'll see you in two week."

"Oh Junko-chan," Masami giggled, followed by a knock at their door. Masami got up to find a woman dressed in a long black winter coat and black pumps was standing behind it.

"Mother," she said surprised.

"Masami," the woman replied as she dusted a little snow off her coat, "Let's go."

"But Junko-chan's father isn't here yet. Please just a few minutes," her well manner daughter begged.

"A few minutes? Masami, we don't have time for your nonsense. You have to get fitted for your dress that you'll wear for the party Saturday," her mother barked.

"Party? What party?"

"Your engagement announcement to that Hijirikawa kid," she replied as she lit a cigarette.

"Um… Ma'am," Junko squeaked, "There's no smoking in the dorms. Saotome Academy has a strict policy about smoking."

"Do I look like one of your stupid student?" the woman snapped at Masami's small friend.

"Mother, I'll be down in a few. I promise," Masami intervened, "Just let me say good-bye to my friend."

"Well hurry it up. Your appoint is at three and we've wasted enough time," her mother said sternly and marched her way to the staircase as Masami closed the door.

"Well she's lovely," Junko sneered.

"I'm sorry. She can be difficult," Masami sighed, "Well, I guess this is it."

"Oh Miss Masami!" Junko cried as she flung herself at her friend, "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"And I you, Junko-chan," the ebony haired girl giggled, "But it's like you said. It's only two weeks."


	11. Christmas Break Part 1

Shou was having an afternoon outing with his twin brother, Kaoru, to get his mind off the past semester. They stopped at some of their favorite shopping areas to check out the new stuff they were selling. Before long the two decided to stop and a bite to eat.

"So, how are things going between you and that Sato girl?" his twin asked after finishing off his meal.

"Fine, we're arguing less," Shou said after sipping on his soda.

"So has she given you an answer?" Kaoru ask giving Shou a sideways smile.

"How did you know about?" he blabbed.

"Natsuki isn't really good at keeping secrets when they concern you," he chuckled, "So has she?"

"No," he grumbled as he laid his head on the table they were at, "Which isn't surprising. She's probably too nice to turn me down. She'll probably do it at the start of the new semester anyways."

"How do you know that?" his twin asked.

"I've been so mean to her. I've teased her, stolen her things, and made fun of her in front of other guys. I even took a book from her and put it on a shelf she couldn't reach," Shou smiled thinking back to that, "She threw such a tantrum over that, it made her look like she was five again."

"Shou, you're so cruel," his twin commented.

"But she deserved it! If you were there, you would understand," he said defensively.

"Sure she did," Kaoru said as he rolled his eyes, "I swear you have the weirdest way of flirting."

"Shut up! How else was I suppose to get Junko's attention!" he exclaimed as he tried to hide his blush.

"Junko! That's not fair!" said a whiny voice and the brothers looked to look at the scene taking place, "Why can't I have those shoes?"

"Misako, I told you already," Junko scolded the girl who was just about the same height as her, "You're only thirteen and you don't need shoes with that much of a heel to them."

"But Kimi-chan and Hana-chan have a pair like that!" the girl continued to whine.

"Well they can trip over their own feet and break their necks. Pappa can't afford for you to be hospitalized," Junko replied as she continued to walk, "Now come on, we have to pick up Kei from that birthday party."

"You're such a stiff!" the girl exclaimed, but continued to walk with her sister.

"Tampen-chan!" Shou called, not able to resist a chance to tease Junko in front of her sibling, "Wait up!"

He and Kaoru caught up to the sisters as they were approaching the birthday party.

"Shou? What are you doing here?" she asked a little shocked to see him.

"Just getting out of the house for a little bit," he said with a smirk and nodded towards his twin, "You remember Kaoru. So who's the young lady?"

"Misako Sato," the young girl said as she flipped her wavy brown hair, trying to be flirtatious, "but I'm out of your league. The doctor said that I have one more growth spurt in me and I might be as tall as 5'4"."

"In your dreams," Junko mumbled as a boy with slightly shaggy dirty blonde hair approached the group.

"Junko-chan! Look, I won a toy," he said as he held up the action figure.

"Kei is such a well behave boy," the lady said, "Thank you for letting him come to my son's party."

"Anytime, ma'am. Come on Kei. Nice seeing you, Shou, Kaoru," Junko smiled as she tried to get away.

"Hey wait a minute. I didn't just come over to say hi," Shou said as he caught with Junko and her family, his brother followed close behind to observe, "How has your break been going?"

"Shou, it's only been two days," she sighed.

"So, how have those days been?" he continued on.

"Good," she said as she cocked an eyebrow as she looked at him with curiosity, "Did you do something?"

"What do you mean by did I do something?" he asked.

"Junko-chan, why is that man wearing a hat?" her brother asked.

"Maybe because he's balding," Misako giggled.

"Am not!" Shou snapped.

"Really, Shou, you're going to argue with a thirteen year old?" Junko giggled as they were about to head out the door of the shopping center.

"Junko-chan! Look!" Kei cried as he pointed at a store front window of a game store, "Can we stop here? Please? We don't have to home just yet."

"Kei, we don't really have that much time," she said as she looked at her watch, "I still have a few things to get."

"I could watch him for you," Kaoru suggested, "I don't mind and maybe Shou could help you finish your shopping."

"Oh you don't have to do that," Junko said.

"Well someone needs to do something cause Kei just ran in," Misako said as the group looked to find the little boy playing on one of the display consoles.

"Ugh… Misako, why didn't you say anything earlier?" Junko snapped.

"I was texting, duh," her sister replied, giving her an annoyed look, "I'm meeting Kimi-chan and Hana-chan upstairs. Later."

"No wait! You can't leave!" but her younger sister was already gone.

"I'll look after Kei. Shou will call when you guys are done," Kaoru winked as he entered the game store.

It almost felt like it was planned. Much like they were all in on what was happening between Shou and Junko. Shou looked at the small brunette to see if she was thinking the same thing, but she looked like she was stressed to the max over the situation they were in.

"Junko," he said and then she snapped back into position.

"Right, we have about an hour and a half till the bus comes. You just going to stand there or help me?" she asked as she eyed him like a drill sergeant and he just laughed.

"Led the way," he chuckled.

They were looking at some fresh product when Shou realize that they hadn't exchanged any rude remarks towards each other. The only ones had been out of fun. They laughed and joked with each other and seem to feel right. He wondered if this is what Natsuki was talking about whenever he came back from a date with Mari. When Junko tried to reach for a can on the top shelf, Shou tried to help, but ended up failing miserably at it and ended up knocking a couple of cans on his head. Junko checked his head to see if he might be bleeding.

"It's just a little bump," she said and before she knew what she was doing she kissed the spot that hurt. Shou felt all the blood in his head rush to his face.

"Ah, aren't just so cute," an older lady said from behind them.

"I know and almost the same height too," giggled another.

"So what's the next thing on your list?" Shou rushed wanting to get out of the aisle soon.

"I think it's noodles. Let's go," Junko agreed and the blushing couple practically ran for it.

They remained quiet the rest of the time they were in the market place. They didn't want to cause another scene like they did earlier. Why did things have to get so awkward all of a sudden? After Junko paid for her groceries, Shou noticed that she was carrying a lot of bags and went to help her.

"No, I got," she said, rejecting his offer.

"Come on, Junko, you have too many to carry on your own," he said reaching for one, but she took them away from him, "Okay now you're just being difficult."

"I'm not being difficult! I'm just telling you I got it!" she snapped.

"Geez just give me one! Come on!" and caught a hold of one.

"Let go!" she cried as she tried to take it back.

"Just one!" he groaned before he found himself flying backwards. When he sat up, he saw that there was food everywhere and Junko was fumbling to pick it all up. Shou got up to help her, but gave him her classic death stare.

"Don't touch anything," she growled and he backed off. Junko was struggling to fit everything into the remaining bags she had left and just couldn't handle it anymore, so she broke down in tears.

"Junko," he said as he approached her with caution and then she started whaling, "Oh no no. Don't cry. Oh please don't cry. Look look. See, they'll fit you just got to move them around a bit. Now you have four bags now. Oh and look, I'm throwing the broken one away. Oh… Please don't cry. Look, I can make funny faces."

He went into an assortment of silly face from puffing his cheeks to sticking his tongue out. It wasn't until some bird poop landed on his coat that she stopped. First she giggled a little and then her giggles accumulated until she was balling from her laughter.

"Sure, laugh at my misfortune," he grumbled as he stared at the white splotch on his shoulder.

"Wait… don't do… anything," she said in between laughs as she reached into her purse and pulled out some wipes. She cleaned off the poop before she collected herself from her hysteria.

"Better?" he asked as he offered a hand to pull her up.

"Not really," she said as she stood with his assistance.

"Why is that?" he asked as they continued to walk back to the shopping center.

"I keep thinking about your offer," she said finally ready to face her fears.

"Oh," he said sadly, "Look I understand if you don't want to go out," he sighed, "It was a stupid idea."

"But I do."

"I know you're probably into some other guy who's taller."

"But I'm not."

"He probably can reach the top shelf."

"Not the one I like," she giggled.

"Bet he plays in the jazz band, right?" he asked not really paying attention to Junko.

"No," Junko said, realizing that Shou was wallowing in his own lament over a guy he was imagining in his head.

"Probably plays some sort of sport," he mumbled.

"SHOU!" she cried finally getting his attention, "Will you stop for a minute and listen to me. If you're going to be like this while we date maybe I should reconsider my decision."

"Date? Who said we were dating?" he asked, really confused by the words Junko had said. She finally rolled her eyes, grabbed his collar, and kissed him on the lips to shut him up. Shou was startled by this action he wasn't sure how to reaction, but when he felt her pull away, he dropped the bags in his hands and wrapped them around her petite waist. He released for a bit before going back for more of her sugar coated kisses. He could have sworn Junko tasted like the honey cakes he liked to eat so much. Finally they released and he was looking into those big brown eyes he adored so much.

"Wow," was all he could say while she just giggled and blush.

****

Masami stared at herself in the full length mirror as the stylist put the final touches to her outfit. She was wearing a white ball gown with matching pair of gloves. Her dress was adorn with beads to make it shimmer in the light and on her hip was a white slash. The shoes she had to wear were killing her feet and she was getting a headache from the curlers she had to wear in her head.

"Hmmm… What do you think, Lady Fujimoto?" the stylish asked. Masami faced her mother who wore a red floor length dress with a slit in it and her hair pinned back into a bun with a little peacock feather sticking from the side. She was leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette from her holder as she gave her daughter a look over.

"Perfect," she smirked as she approached her daughter, "Like the little princess she always thought she was or at least what her father would tell her when she was younger."

"Really?" Masami asked, longingly wanting her mother's approval.

"It's good enough to make the crowd stir at least," her mother said smugly, "Fix her hair. Now."

Masami stepped down from the pedestal and made her way over to her make-up table. The stylish began to undo the curlers from her hair as she made small talk.

"You must be awfully proud for your daughter. Word on the street is that the Hirijikawa company is about to make another merger. They're wealth just get bigger and bigger, not to mention she will be marrying a very handsome man," the stylish babbled.

"If it were me, she would be marrying better, but Ryuu just wants the approval from that old windbag he calls 'Mother'," her sneered as she grabbed her martini glass, "True, the boy is handsome and the family shows promise, but what they're offering is not nearly as much as some of the other offers we've gotten for Masami. Heard of the Kitsune family? Their eldest son, Zurui, came calling last month and hasn't left us alone since. I keep telling Ryuu that it's pointless to follow through with this wedding, but he won't listen to reasoning. Zurui even offered to allow us to retire at one of their many vacationing spots. He's practically running his father's company now and by the time that Hirijikawa boy takes over, Zurui will be making triple the amount he will be making in a month."

"But I've heard of dirty dealing in that family. Word is that they are running underground mafias and loan sharks too," the stylist said as she pinned a few of Masami's curls down.

"Who cares?" her mother sneered, "I'm not paying you for your option, I'm paying you to make this one perfect so that way when she enters the room, people stare at her. Have her ready in ten minutes!"

And with that her mother slammed the door. Masami could feel herself shaking and she couldn't tell if it was her nerves or her fear that was getting the best of her. She knew how ruthless her mother was on getting her own way and it didn't matter who she had to hurt in the end.

"Oh dear, don't you worry," her stylish cooed, "When he sees you, he won't even know what do with himself."

Masami gave her a small smile. She almost wished Junko was there to comfort her, but at least this stylish was much nicer than the last one her mother hired.

"So, did I do good or what?" she asked as she waited for Masami to look herself over. She felt like she hardly recognized herself. Her bangs were pinned back with a white peacock feather pin and around her neck were the pearls her grandmother gave to her as a Christmas present. Her lips were painted red and there was a light dusting of blue on her eye lids to make her eyes pop more. She felt like a lady, an elegant, charming, proper lady.

"Thank you," she said softly and the stylish bowed. Soon the family butler was at the door telling her it was time.

Masami took her time not to trip over the long skirt of her dress. When she looked up, she saw Masato standing at the top of the stairs waiting for her. He wore a dark blue tux. His coat was open as he stood there relaxed while looking out at the crowd below them. His hands were in his pocket and his stare was firm, like he was trying to find someone. How did they get to this? Wasn't just yesterday he was nursing her skid knee and telling her to stop crying?

"_But Masa-kun, it hurts," she whined as the tears kept coming._

"_Well stop," he scolded as he cleaned the wound, "It's not going to make it better." But she didn't. No matter how hard she tried, they seem to come harder. Before she knew it she felt a warm and tender touch on her knee, and when looked, she saw Masato was kissing her bandaged knee. She was so shocked that she didn't know what to do. Masato firm blue eyes met hers and she was frighten that he might do something else unexpected, but she couldn't move. His stare must have turned her into stone like the people in Obo-chan's stories._

"_Feel better?" he asked as he continued burrow his eyes into hers. She could only nod. She didn't trust her words._

"_Good," he said, "Don't expect me to do that every time you hurt yourself."_

"Masami," he said as he looked at her. Masami felt herself getting a little shy.

"It's a bit much, huh?" she asked as she looked at her hands. She felt his warm hand against her cheek as he lifted her head up to look into those intense eyes.

"Just right," he smiled and leaned in to steal a brief kiss from her before offering his arm to escort her down to the ballroom. Masami felt like she was walking into a fairy tale. She felt like a real princess as she looked up at Masato. He even looked like the many princes she had imagined. Never would have thought she would be sharing a moment like this with a childhood friend.

"They look so lovely," whispered one person.

"Almost like they were meant to be," said another.

"I'll have to make sure to congratulate their parents as soon as I can."

"I told you she looked like a princess," Masami heard Masato's little sister, Mai, say to one of her little friends as they stared in 'ah' at the sight of her and Masato. She could have sworn Masato had heard that, because she heard him give a throaty chuckle.

"All eyes are on you tonight," he whispered to her as they reached the dance floor.

"I believe you are also getting some glances too," she giggled as she noted some of her friends were eyeing her and Masato with envy. The music began as Masato bowed and Masami curtsied. It was time for the fairy tale night to begin.

Masato stepped out onto the balcony for some fresh air. It was getting rather stuffy in there and Masami was being swarmed by all her old friends who were all dying to know what the academy was like. He breathed in the cold air. It felt good.

"Enjoying yourself, Masato?" asked the old lady by him. He looked to find it was Obi-chan dressed in a dark purple kimono with the outlines of peacock feathers on it in green. She looked like a lady of great power and control.

"Yes ma'am," he said as he slightly bowed for her.

"No need to be so polite boy," she giggled and turned to look back into the ballroom, "She looks really lovely tonight, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," he sighed as he looked at his future bride dance with one of the younger boys.

"Promise me something, Masato," she said getting serious, "You'll fight for her. No matter what happens, promise me that you'll do everything in your power to never let her go."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he eyed the old lady with concern.

"You'll be fighting with a woman who is selfish and greedy. She feels that she was robbed of her chance to for a true treasure and she will stop at nothing to get it," she said as she turned to look at the worried young man, "You might not understand now, but you will soon. No matter what happen, promise me that you will pursue my Masami. She deserved nothing but the best and I had promised myself I would give her that."

"You have my word, ma'am," he promised and sealed it with a kiss on Obo-chan's hand.

"There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere, Obo-chan. Trying to steal my fiancée I see," she giggled as she hugged and kissed her grandmother.

"Oh petto-chan, I would never do that to you," she giggled and winked, "My days for chasing younger men are over. Besides I have mine already. I'll leave you two love birds alone."

"So," Masami said playfully, "What were you two talking about?"

"Just agreeing on how lovely you look tonight," he said as he linked her arm with his, "I see you're having a wonderful time."

"Yeah, but I'm not really much for big parties like this. This was all Mother's doing," she sighed as they walked back into the ballroom, "She likes making spectacles like this. She used to tell me stories about how she was the belle of every ball she went to whether her father was hosting them or not. When we have children, let's just keep things simple for them."

"Already have babies on the mind, Masami?" he teased and she blushed.

"Miss Fujimoto," said a young gentleman as he bowed, "I was wondering if I might have a dance with you."

"Oh well," she said as she eyed Masato.

"Go ahead. I'll be here when it's done," he said as he led her hand to the man in front of them.

"You sure that was a wise decision?" asked Masami's younger brother, Katashi, who stood next to him.

"Why do you ask?" he asked as he watched his fiancé dance with the stranger.

"That's Zurui Kitsune. He's the guy that's been snooping around here while you and Masami have been gone. Father says that he is a danger and a pest that needs to know when he's not wanted, but Father doesn't know that Mother has been having secret meetings with him for the past two weeks," the young boy said as he eyed the dancing pair too, "I know I might be mean to my sister sometimes, but that cause I'm her brother. I'm allowed to get under her skin, but I would much rather have you as a brother-in-law then that cheating prick. He doesn't even play fair in chess and I already hate chess enough."

"You look rather lovely, Miss Masami," the man said as they continued to sway with the music.

"Thank you, Mr… umm… I guess I didn't catch your name," she said politely.

"Kitsune. Zurui Kitsune," he said with a sly smile as she looked up in to his cold dark eyes that were behind a pair of steel framed glasses. He had dark red hair and was rather tall. She could have sworn she saw an old scar under his left eye, but she must have imagined it.

"Oh Kitsune, I've heard of you. My mother speaks highly of you," she said trying to make conversation.

"Hehe… I would hope so," he chuckled darkly, "I've been watching you, Masami. You really come from a very privilege life. I would hate to see it all taken away just because a couple of silly old ladies think it would be cute for their grandchildren to wed."

"I don't understand," she said confused.

"I can give you more than that Hirijikawa boy can," he said, "My wealth has doubled in the last year and I'm only twenty-five. You wouldn't have to lift a finger. You would be pampered for the rest of your life and your parents would be taken care of after they retired. Your brother won't have to work a day in his life."

"If this is a proposal, I would have to decline or did you forget that this is my engagement party," she said as she pushed the strange man away, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I must ask you to leave, Mr. Kitsune."

"Of course," he said politely as he bowed, "But don't think that this is over. The fox always gets his prey."

Masami was feeling restless that night as she tossed and turned in her bed trying to get comfortable. Nothing worked. That Kitsune creep had to ruin her night as she fluffed her pillow again for the tenth time. She sighed as she thought back to his words. There was no way he would plan something so devious or would he? Was her mother in on this plan too? Masami laid back down and stared at the canopy of her bed. This was hopeless; there was only one way she was going to get any sleep. She just hoped she wouldn't get caught.

Masato felt something stir beside him, so when he pulled the sheets up he was a little surprise to see Masami curled up next to him in her light blue nightgown with a little peacock embroider on the left sleeve.

"Mamasi," he said softly as he gently woke her, "what are you doing here? If your father finds you here, it will be the death of me."

"Please, Masato," she begged, "I can't sleep and lying next to you always made me feel better."

"What's wrong?" he asked as he made her comfortable again, "Did you have one those bad dreams like you used to when you were younger? Obo-chan would scold you if were eating ice cream so late again. I would even scold you right now if that's the case."

"No, I just can't sleep," she said as she cuddled closer to him, laying her head on his chest and drawing circles on his stomach with her finger.

"There's got to be something," he said sounding a little more concern, "Is it something that Kitsune character said?"

"Do you think someone would want to break us up?" she asked as looked up at him.

"Masami," he sighed and decided to make the same promise he had made to her grandmother, "I promise to always protect you and no matter what happens I'll always fight to have you back in my arms." And he sealed that promise with a kiss.

****

Natsuki was walking up the street with a couple of bags with gifts in them. He knew Mari told him not to bother bring presents, but he wanted to make a good impression. He had bought toys for the new twins and Mari's niece and nephew, a few sport magazines for her older twin brothers, some flowers for her mother, and had baked a cake for desert. He was so excited that he could hardly wait to see everyone together. More importantly, he couldn't wait to see Mari in a more natural environment. He hummed a little tune as he approached the front door of her place. It was a rather nice place, did seem a bit small to have such a large gathering. Natsuki felt a bit shaky while he stood there, but he straightened his back and puffed out his chest. There was no way he was going to let a bunch of over grown cavemen scare him off and rang the doorbell.

"Coming, coming," he heard Mari's voice and the door opened to reveal her with a bandana wrap around her head, an apron over her clothes and a baby in one arm. He couldn't help, but feel like he was looking into the future.

"Natsuki!" she said a little surprised, "You're early."

"Oh, I just couldn't wait any longer," he said with a kind smile, "And who is this little precious one?"

"Kameyo," she said, "Mom is changing Katsumi right now."

"Ah, hello Miss Kameyo. I'm Natsuki," he said in a baby voice as the little new born giggled, "Ah, now aren't you just the cutest little girl ever. Yes you are. Yes you are."

"Don't say it too loud or Katsumi will start crying. I swear she's worst than Kohaku when it comes to attention," Mari scolded as she let him in, "This way to the living room."

After taking off his shoe, Natsuki noted that there were several toys scattered everywhere and of all different shapes and sizes. Lying around were some playing cards, a baseball, a car, a doll and a teddy bear along with a few other things. The TV was on a cartoon channel and in front of it were a boy and a girl probably between the ages of six and two. The boy had a little brown hair and the girl's hair was the same, but in pigtails.

"Eiji, Suzu, come over and meet my friend," Mari said as she and Natsuki sat on the couch.

"In a minute," the boy grumbled, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"You'll have to be patience with those two," Mari sighed as she let Kameyo on to a blanket that was on the floor, "They get their stubbornness from my brother."

"Not that you're stubborn either, Mari," giggled a young lady from the doorway who was holding the other twin, "You must be Natsuki. I'm Mio Ono, Mari's mother."

"Natsuki Shinomayi, ma'am," he said as he stood up and bowed.

"Out no need to be so proper," the older lady giggled as she joined her babies and grandchildren on the floor, "So this is the boyfriend you've been hiding from me, Mari?"

"I haven't been hiding," Mari said as she tried to cover her blushing face, "I never had a chance to tell you about him."

"Please, Mari, you had plenty of time to tell me about him," her mother giggled, "Oh no, Katsumi, don't bite your sister."

"Ma-ma," little Suzu said as she got up from the TV to see what everyone was going on about, "what that?"

The little girl was pointing at the bags that were next to Natsuki feet.

"Oh these, they're just present," he said as he smiled at the little girl, "See, Mari-chan told me you like penguins like her."

"Pengies!" the little girl squealed as she took hold of the little stuff animal in front of her and jumped around with it.

"Suzu, what do you say?" Mio asked, making sure the little two year old knew her manners.

"Thank you," she said as she kissed Natsuki on the cheek.

"Did I get anything?" the little boy asked as he walked over to where Natsuki was sitting.

"Oh yes," he said with a wide smile as he reached into his bag and pulled out a building kit for a model airplane, "Mari-chan told me you and your dad like to put these together."

"Cool. Thanks Natsuki-san," he said as he sat back on the floor to look it over.

"That was very thoughtful of you, Natsuki," Mio praised.

"Oh and flowers for you," he said handing Mari's mom the bouquet, "And I made cake."

"Oh great, let me take that," Mari said as she swiped the container from his hands and exited to the kitchen quickly to dispose of whatever was inside it.

"Well, that was odd," Natsuki said as he stared at his empty hands in front of him.

"I'll put these in a vase," her mother giggled, "Would you mind watching the twins for me?"

"Love to!" he said excitedly and joined the babies on the floor.

Mari had thrown the cake out before it caused anyone food poisoning. Once she had cleaned her hands of the evidences, she returned to living area only to stop at the doorway to watch the scene in front of her. She had never seen anything more precious. There was Natsuki tickling the twins and giving them raspberries on their bellies. When Katsumi began to cry, he took her up in his arms and began calming her down. He was a born natural when it came to kids.

"Really nice to see," Mio said as she placed an arm around her daughter, "That's how I knew I was in love with your father."

"Yeah," Mari sighed, "Where is Dad anyways?"

"Oh at the gym training his judo team. They have their first tournament coming up soon," she giggled, "Won't that be a surprise to Natsuki when he sees how big your father is?"

Boom went the front door.

"Mom, we're back," and there came a man with short black hair who stood about 6'3" with a woman with a petite frame who had long, wavy brown and was much shorter than the man she stood next carrying grocery bags.

"And that would be Kazou and Ami," her mother giggled as she went to help with the bags.

Kazou stood over Natsuki eyeing him from where he sat. Natsuki could feel that intimidating stare. It must be common in the Ono family, to size one from how they looked. Mari came by to take Katsumi from his arms and place her back on the blanket with her twin sister.

"So you the punk messing with my sister," he sneered as he crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down the meek four-eyed boy.

"Uh… Hi," Natsuki said as he stood up and straighten himself up, "I'm Natsuki Shinomiya."

"Oh! He's interrogating him now, Akihiro!" he heard Akihiko call from the stairwell followed be the pounding of heavy feet coming down him. Now he was surrounded by Mari's three older brothers each looking at him with that intense stare that made him feel as small as a mouse.

"You guys, quit it," Mari scolded as she came between her brothers and Natsuki, "We don't need you guys freaking him out.

"Is that the punk that's dating my daughter?" boomed a voice from behind them and Natsuki saw a big burly man with firm brow stared him down. Finally Natsuki fainted.

"Sorry for making such a scene tonight," Natsuki apologized as he stood outside with Mari.

"Don't worry about. Once you came to everything was fine. Thanks for helping me put the twins and my niece and nephew to bed. I don't know how I would without you," she said with a warm smile making him feel like he might turn to jello again, not even noticing that she had gotten closer to whisper in his ear, "Just so you know, Dad likes you a lot."

With that she gave him a small kiss on the cheek, wished him good-night, and went back into the house.

Natsuki couldn't help but let out a cry of victory before making his way home.


	12. Christmas Break Part 2

**I know it's been a while since I've updated and I know this is shorter than others, but you guys have been asking so here it is. :3 Promise to keep updating as much as I can.**

Slam went another filing cabinet as Natsako took it upon herself to reorganize the whole office for her parents. She was still upset over what had happened before the break. How dare Kohaku do that to her? Taking Tokiya right in front of her like that, but then again she had no idea about the feeling Natsako had for him. Still, the girl should have been a little bit more aware of it than that.

"Still upset over that boy?" asked her mother who was standing in the doorway watching her daughter look through more files.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she responded as she continued her work.

"Don't you think you'll feel better if you just vent," her mother said as she approached her daughter who was sitting behind her desk.

Natsako looked up at her ebony hair, Mohawk mother. She had a pierced lip and was wearing the darkest eyeliner she could wear along with the red contacts she was fond of today. She was wearing a cut up band shirt and frayed jeans with her high heeled boots. She really wasn't like most moms.

"Why can't you wear clothes meant for your age?" Natsako asked as she glared up at her mom.

"There's that spunk," he mother winked, "You just need to bring it out. Let your inner demon out every once in a while. Does Izumi want to come out?" She playful poked her daughter's chest as she smiled.

"Mother, I told you I would never play as her again. She is a thing of the past," Natsako said as she walked past her mother to another filing cabinet.

"Why do you want to be like most girls your age?" her mother asked as she continued to pursue the situation, "You always felt better when we did you up and you were in the recording studio letting out all your anger and frustration."

"That was before I had friends, Mother," she retorted.

"Natsako Yamamoto, there is nothing wrong with being angry, but if you keep bottling it up, it's just going to keep building until you can't control it. If you want to vent, I'll be in studio 10B working with your brother and his band," and with that Natsako was alone again. She slammed the drawer close and went back to work. She didn't need to vent like that. She would deal with it in her own time; there was no need to hide behind a character she created when she was younger. She looked at a photo her mom kept on her desk of her and her brother. There she saw Izumi Yami with her long wavy brown hair, pierced nose and with wearing a red corset, leather snake pants, and platform shoes. Heavy black eyeliner to make her gray eyes pop and giving the camera a birdie made her look like she was empowered. She didn't care what others thought of her. She was strong and independent. It didn't matter if you hated her, because more than likely she would hate you too. With a heavy sigh, Natsako couldn't stand it anymore and got up to find her mother so she could let off some steam.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX**

"This has to be the best vacation ever," Kohaku said to herself as she sipped on her fruit drink, "Just lounge on the beach, get a tan, fine dining, and all the shopping I can do."

"Don't forget all the nice room service we get, my darling little girl," said the man next to her.

"Oh Daddy of course not," she giggled as she eyed some of the bathers near the pool. She sighed. Kohaku would have really like to see Tokiya here. It was weird just starting to go out with someone and not being able to see them every day, but Daddy did promise her that they would Friday so she could spend the weekend with him so it wouldn't be much longer till she could see him, but it wasn't like they hadn't talked at all over the break. He had call to make sure she was all right. Kohaku smiled to herself when she thought back to the long conversation they had last night. It was rather sweet. They had said 'Goodnight' at least six or seven times before she had finally fallen asleep. She just knew Daddy would love Tokiya as soon as he got the chance to meet him.

"Daddy, I'm going to head into town for a bit and do some shopping. You wouldn't mind…"

"Oh of course not my dear," the happy bearded man said as he opened his wallet and handed her the credit card, "Just don't forget to get me something nice as well."

"Oh Daddy," Kohaku giggles as she kissed his cheek and took the card.

"Just be back in time for dinner," he said as she walked off.

Kohaku walked along the boardwalk with a smile on her face. She wanted to get Tokiya a gift from her wonderful trip. She wasn't sure if he would like a shirt or maybe a keychain that said St. Charles. She giggled at the thought of him receiving a gift from her. The red headed beauty scanned shelves for anything that would intrigue the famous pop star.

"Surprise to see you scanning these shelves," said a husky voice in her ear, "I figured that you would be looking in the feminine section for another string bikini."

When she turned around quickly, she was greeted by those wicked, flirtatious blue eyes that made her blood run cold. She wanted nothing more than to run away at that moment, but once her eyes locked onto his, her legs suddenly forgot how to move.

"What are you doing here?" she asked her blonde hair nemesis.

"I'm here on vacation," Ren said simply, "Isn't that obvious?"

"It would seem like you had followed me here," she said as she glared at him, "Is that it?"

"I had no idea you were here until I saw you walk into this shop," he said as he held up his hands in defense, "Honestly."

She looked him over, noticing that his long hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he had part of his chest covered with a button up short sleeved shirt that complimented his tropical print swim trunks. She had to admit to herself, he was more handsome with his hair out of his face. She could see all of his defining features such as his jaw line and neck.

"So what brings you over here?" he asked playfully, "Finding me a present?"

"Why would I buy you something?" she argued as she turned back to the rack of shirts.

"I don't know," he said as he played with a strain of her red hair, "I should know that you would be shopping for Tokiya. I want to apologize to you."

Kohaku stopped shuffling through the rack and listened.

"How I tried you before school let out for the break was unfair to you and him," Ren sighed.

Kohaku turned to face the sly lover and saw that remorse in his eyes.

"Well," she said after the long pause, "If you're really sorry, you would buy me ice cream."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Natsako sipped her tea as she let her voice rest. She couldn't remember the last time she had strained herself so much. It was scary yet exciting and she felt like she had released everything that was pen up in her for too long. There was no point in keeping her feeling bottled up for so long. She let out a sigh of relief as sat back in her chair.

"Great recording session, sis," said her brother, Mamuro, as leaned against her doorframe, "You really killed it in there. I thought the whole building was going to explode from the way you were belting it out."

She glared at him.

"Wait till the media gets a hold of that single and then Izumi Yama will be number one again," he smirked as he showed off his new fangs.

"What?!" she panicked, "It's being released!"

"Of course," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Why wouldn't it be released?"

She jumped from her seat and ran to the office her parents kept at home to find the metal couple looking over some things on their laptops.

"You released the single without talking to me first?" Natsako yelled as she stared at her parents in shock.

"You said," her father replied, "You didn't care what we did with the recording and after listening to it a few times, we decided that Izumi Yama might need to make a comeback."

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked as she walked over to the bearded man's desk.

"Because you've already have had 2,000 downloads in the first hour," he said as he turned his computer to face his daughter and he eyed her over his shades, "and the numbers are climbing."

"You're popular, Natsako," her mother said as she walked over to hug her shoulders, "This song has more power and heart in it than any of your brother's and Izumi is more popular than you think."

"But I don't want to be Izumi," she said as she shook her mother off, "I want to be Natsako! The girl who plays oboe and studies hard for any class she is in. Not some bitch who hates anyone and anything."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ren and Kohaku laughed over dinner as they exchanged stories of school years past. The red headed beauty was having the most she had had the whole entire she had been today with this flirt. She was surprise after they had walked the beach that he had invited her to dine with him that night. She sipped the champagne they were given and smiled at the man sitting across from her.

"I can't believe how much has changed," Kohaku smiled, "It's hard to imagine we did all those things."

"Or fought about those things," Ren replied with a wink.

She felt herself blush. She felt his hand brush against hers on the table and knew that maybe they might be getting too friendly with each other.

"Well umm… this was fun," she said as she reached her pursue, "but I must go. I have a flight tomorrow back to Japan."

"Leaving before dessert," he smirked as a waiter stopped by and placed a chocolate cake in front of her.

"I really shouldn't," she said timidly as he reached for the fork next to the plate.

"Oh come on, my rose," Ren said as he dug the utensil through the devil's food and held it in front of her, "just a bite."

Kohaku didn't understand the spell she was under, but she couldn't break away. She could feel her brain telling her to run away, but her heart was telling her something completely different. Slowly, her plump lips paired and she took the bite. The riches of the chocolate swirled around in her mouth making her mind go into a fog as the sly flirt continued to feed her. He watched her as she enjoyed every bite of cake. He didn't want this moment to end. He wasn't ready to let her go.


	13. Seasons Changing

**A.N. Like to thank HellButterflyGirl for pointing out a misinterpretation of this chapter. I never meant to make it look like Ren was crazy possessive over my OC and I tweaked the HarukaxOtoya romance. Sorry about all the delays, but you know sometimes life gets in the way of doing things you want to do. Thank you all for the support. So enjoy. Be sure to review. :3**

* * *

><p>Haruka stretched her arms overhead as she greeted the morning of the new semester. With a content sigh she walked down the lane with her classmates surrounding her as they went about talking and gossiping. She had enjoyed this time of year, when everything was anew. Tomochiya walked along next to her going on about the new charm bracelet her parents got for her along with the many other fantastic things. Haruka was just happy to spend time with her grandmother. She had enjoyed getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, though she had missed her friends dearly. Snow still powered the ground and the air still had a chill, but that would soon change. Once she entered the school, Haruka folded her scarf and hung her coat in her locker, but was shocked by someone covering her eyes. A little playful chuckle gave away the person.<p>

"Otoya," she giggled and swatted his hands away.

"Hey," he laughed and winked, "Did you enjoy your Christmas?"

"Yes," she smiled as the three of them walked to their homeroom.

Otoya didn't want to hide the fact that he was so happy to see the gingered hair cutie. He had to keep his feelings at bay or else he might explode, but he had prayed to God that he would have the courage to tell Haruka how he truly felt. This would be his year. Nothing was going to stand in his way.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Shou waited outside the girls' dorm for Junko to appear. He looked over the text message he got last night from her. She said she wanted the others to know about their relationship, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for that moment. His mind kept replaying that moment in the grocery store when those two ladies pointed out how "cute" they were together. He didn't want to be seen as cute. He had been cute all his life. Natsuki reminded him practically every day. He wanted to be seen as a man. He got up from the bench he was sitting at and began to pace. He could always run. Junko would understand. He could always tell her that overslept, but then Natsuki would call him out on lying. He knew that Shou was up before him trying to figure out what he was going to wear when he first saw that little pixie. He felt like an idiot. Why was this so hard? He sunk back into the bench and hung his head low. He wanted the others to be jealous of him, but how could they when he's with a girl his size?

"Shou," said a meek voice. He looked up and saw those big chocolate eyes. Her hair held the ribbon that was precious to her. Her uniform was neat as always and she blushed at the way Shou was staring.

"Stop staring," Junko said looking away, "You're embarrassing me."

He smiled. Maybe cute was all right. With a sigh, Shou approached his blushing girlfriend and placed a kiss on her forehead. Taking the time to lace his bare hand with her gloved one and winked at her. They walked to the school together as people stared and pointed.

"Are they dating?"

"Looks like it."

"So cute! They are the perfect height for each other!"

"It's about time. Good thing they haven't killed each other."

Shou felt his pride swell and glanced to find Junko having a blushing fit.

"Hey," he whispered, "Don't worry, okay?"

She met his kind smile with a giddy one of her own. She giggled and leaned into him more. Nothing could be more perfect than this moment.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kohaku was going out of her way to avoid everyone. She left before Mari woke up, ignored all of Tokiya's texts, and definitely did not want to see Ren. She didn't want to explain herself to anyone. She sat in the practice room going over the Mozart piece she had been working so hard on, but was listening it fall apart. She took her pencil and mark furiously at all the mistakes she was making that she had not made before. With every mistake she made there was more frustration.

"Much like Ren," she mumbled to herself, but stopped herself.

She wasn't going to think of the loathsome boy who plays with hearts like it was a game. She wiped away a stray tear before it could fall and went back to her clarinet. How dare he try to sneak his way back into her heart like that?

_The sun peeked through the curtain disturbing the red headed beauty from her sleep. She pulled the covers over her head to hide from the sunlight. The other side of her bed started to stir; she felt two arms wrap around her waist and her back met something warm and solid. Now she was awake and threw the covers off to find a half naked blonde man next to her._

"_Ren!" she shouted and fell out of the bed._

"_Rose bud," he yawned with his eyes half open, "Come back to bed. Your flight doesn't leave till one and it's cold."_

"_Wh… What… What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed as she wrapped a hotel rob around herself to cover up the black, lacey slip she was wearing._

"_You asked me to spend the night," he yawned again as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and lazily smiled at her. She stared in fear. Had she really?_

_The blonde boy stretched scratched his back as he lazily smiled at the heiress. His smile slowly faded when he saw the fear in her eyes._

"_Nothing happened if that's what you're worried about," he sighed as he got up from the bed to dress, "You were a little dizzy from the champagne. You asked me to stay and I did."_

_Kohaku tried to process everything that was happening. Ren didn't do anything? How is that even possible? Whenever he was around her, he was always flirting with her and had his arms all over her._

"_And for the record," he chuckled as he made his way to where she stood, "You took off your clothes, not me."_

_She began to blush, but made a quick recovery before he noticed the embarrassment on her face._

"_Thank you very much for being concern about my well being," she said adjusting her rob to make sure she concealed her body. _

_The blonde boy was hovering over her with that lazy smile on his pretty face. Kohaku tried to keep her eyes from meeting his. When she felt his hair tickle her cheek, she feared that her knees were going to buckle under her._

"_I love you too," he whispered in that husky tone that would turn the red hair beauty into putty. Those words were what she had wanted to hear from him for so long. It was as if it was a dream come true. All she had to do now was throw her arms around his neck and bring him into a passionate kiss, but there was something holding her back._

"_Isn't it a bit late for that, Ren?" she asked him coldly, "But that's your style, right? Wait for a girl to be in a promising relationship and then steal her once you have her alone. You're pathetic. What did you expect? You say those poisonous words and I become yours?"_

_He looked hurt. It was as if she had pierced through his chest and was holding his heart in her hand._

"_But last night," he started, but Kohaku delivered the final blow, "You said so yourself I was drunk. When a person is inebriated, their word means nothing. If I had told you I shared strong feels for you, then you are surly taking the word of a drunken fool."_

_Ren looked shocked at the words she was saying. Never had she been so cruel to him. She wanted to take every word of it back, but what good would it do? He would always be a lion on the prowl, looking for his next kill. If he let her become one of his prizes, what good would that do her? She watched him finish dressing himself and walk towards the door of her hotel room, but not before issuing her a warning._

"_You may think that you were a drunken fool and that you don't remember anything that you said, but I know you're wrong. You love me just like I love you," he said, "One way or another you will be mine."_

Kohaku still shook from his words. She remembered laying in that bed for hours breathing in his scent off of the sheets and pillow. She knew what she should have done, because now she felt torn. Toykia was a safe choice for her, but Ren was the one who made her blood boil. She couldn't handle looking at Toykia knowing what she had done. She knew that she kissed Ren passionately that night and pulled him into her hotel room. When he was going to walk away from her, she played dumb to get him to spend the night. She didn't have to, but she wanted to feel that fire from his kisses more. In her rage, she threw her music everywhere and let the tears flow. She had betrayed a respectable man's trust and had given into her temptations. She hugged her knees close to her and shook from all of the tears. The door to the practice room opened to reveal the tomboy in her sloppily wore uniform.

"Fukuda?" Mari said and was stunned to see her roommate in the state that she was in.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Masato walked along the corridor while engross in a book. He paid no mind to anyone around until his shoulder was bumped. A man dressed as chauffer was walking the hall carrying vase containing a bouquet of flowers.

"Beg your pardon, Madame," he hear the chauffer say, "But would you happen to know where I can find a Miss Fujimoto?"

"Masami?" Masato said to himself. He hadn't ordered her any flowers and then he thought back.

"I'd be willing to take them to her," the teacher said, "May I asked who they are from."

"My master, Kitsune," he said as he bowed, "He sends his love to the young miss and hopes she accepts his proposal."

There was a gasp along with some whispers from some bystanders. Masato felt his anger build up and coil like a snake that felt its enemy upon him. He walked up to the teacher and snatched the bouquet from her hand.

"I'll delivery them," he snapped and took long strides to get out of the hallway. He needed to dispose of these wretched things. He was not going to let a fox sneak his way into Masami's heart. When he was outside, he threw the vase with the flowers in it, letting the glass shatter all over the place. He vigorously stomped on every flower until it was nothing. How dare he? How dare that excuse for a man try to pull a stun like that in front of him? Masato grabbed hold of his knees and took deep breaths as his head hung low. He was shaking. He had never felt such a rush of emotion come over him.

"Oh you really are pathetic," said a cool voice. Masato looked up to find the fox wearing his tailored suit and a smug look on his face.

"What do you want?" Masato asked as he straightened up and glared daggers at the red haired menace.

"What is rightfully mine," Zurui said not letting his smirk taper as he walked towards his young competitor, "It's best that you give up now, because in the end, you'll just make a fool out of both of yourselves."

"I'll never give up," the blue haired boy glared as his fist balled. He held back everything he could not to punch him right then and there.

"Then I'll make you suffer," the fox man said and leaned in closely, "And you'll wished you had given up."

All the boy could down as glare at his enemy.

"She will never choose you," Masato said smugly, "I have always had her love. She will always be by my side and me by hers. She means more to me than riches and that is something you will never understand. You can't buy her love!"

"No," Zurui said as he removed his glasses to clean them, "Her parents think other wises. They know by merging with my company, their wealth will go up 20% where with your father's company it will only be about 5%. Love doesn't matter in the world of business, you little school boy. Wake up. It's survival of the fittest and as far as I see is that you're merely a cat that thinks it can take on this mountain lion."

Masato was ready to throw the punch, but someone stopped him.

"Back off, Kitsune," said Ren as he held his roommate from making a terrible mistake, "Aren't you a little old to be picking on school boys?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haruka looked over some lyrics she was working on with the hopes of writing a new song for Starish.

"My heart sores when I see you. I feel like I could float away from one kiss," she sung to herself and subconsciously chewed on the end of her eraser. Tilling her head to one side, she looked at the lyrics over.

"My heart sores when I see you. It is something that can't be missed. All I can think of is when we kissed," she sighed, "It would help more if maybe I have been kissed."

Closing up her journal, she sank back into her chair.

"Hey Haru-chan," said a cheery voice.

"Oh hey Otoya," she said in a melancholy tone.

"Well that can't be good," the red hair boy said as he pulled up a chair next to her, "What's got you all sad?"

She pushed the journal over to him and pointed to the page that had the lyrics she had been working on.

"It's just not coming out right," she said as she rested her head on the table she was at, "I just don't feel inspired like I did when I first met you guys. Everyone is changing and I feel like I'm just standing still. Shou and Junko are a couple now! What has this world come to?"

Otoya just chuckled at the slightly ditzy girl's distress.

"Don't worry about it," he said patting her head, "Your inspiration will come to you. And Shou and Junko being a couple, doesn't mean the world is going to end."

"But who really saw it happening other than Tomo-chan?" she continued to whine, "If those two can find something in common other than their height, than why can't I find someone who wants me more than a friend?"

Otoya gulped hard. Was this the sign he was waiting for or would this make their friendship awkward? He touched the right side of her face so he could see those honey colored eyes he was so fond of. The sparkled like amber in the little sun light that was left shining through the library windows. He softly smiled at her as she met his gaze.

"Otoya?" she said breaking his focus, "What are you doing?"

"Oh umm… You had an umm… bug in your hair," he stammered and pretended to flick something away, "See… All better."

The ginger hair girl laughed at the randomness of her red headed friend. They talked a while more and Otoya helped her with her lyrics before they were ushered out of the library. They walked to the dorms sharing stories of their winter break and what they were most excited about this year. When Haruka headed into the girls' dorm, Otoya hit his head against a nearby tree. He had the perfect opportunity to kiss her and he chickened out. He groaned loudly as he continued to bang his head against the tree. He stopped when he heard someone say his name. There stood Natsuki staring at him with a puzzling look.

"Umm… Your forehead is bleeding," he said casually.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Natsako looked over the invitation in her hand. Her parents had arranged for Izumi Yami to make her first public appearance in two years at an underground concert in the bad part of Tokyo. Her parents had made it clear to her that it was up to her if she wanted to do it again, but this made her nervous. First it'll be an appearance and then it'll be interviews and then there will be a new album and before school semester is over she'll be on tour. She didn't want this. She took her glasses off and pinched the bridge of her nose. Grabbing her brush, she ran it through her hair before braiding it. She read over what Izumi was going to do at this concert, if you could even call it a concert. This wasn't her crowd, her people. She dreamt of inspiring the world with her compositions, not singing about how a boy wouldn't even look at her. Falling back into her pillow, she closed her eyes to think. Was she really more like Izumi than she let on? Was she really a person full of anger and hate? Maybe this crowd really was for her. She turned her head to look at a picture that was framed on her desk. A girls' group picture of her, Mari, Masami, Junko, Tomochika, Haruka and Kohaku at their first slumber party.

"_Stop squirting whipped cream in your mouth, Mari!" Junko whined as she tried to reach for the can from the tall girl's hand, "You'll get all over the sheets!"_

"_It wasn't even that much," the pink haired tomboy replied keeping the can out of reach._

"_Shouldn't you be watching your weight, Mari," teased Kohaku as she flipped through a magazine, "Oh wait, Natsuki's cooking does that for you."_

"_Who is Natsuki?" asked Masami as Natsako pour her some tea._

"_He's a boy who is rather interested in Mari," she replied as she handed the newcomer her cup, "He's rather strange. Where he is rather feminine, Mari, as you can tell, is rather boyish."_

"_Natsuki is not feminine!" Mari yelled as she shot a glare at the girl who wore glasses._

"_Well, compared to you, he is," the red haired beauty giggled._

_The door opened to a rather cheerful Tomochika._

"_I found my camera!" she exclaimed as she waved the digital device in her hand, "Now let's capture this memorable night!"_

_The bubbly red head took pictures with everyone, of everyone and of every activity that was going on. There were giggles and cheers. It was probably one of the happiest nights Natsako had ever experienced._

"_All right before we sleep we have to take a silly group picture together," Tomochika said as she placed the camera on a desk in the dorm room, "Hurry! We've got ten seconds!"_

Natsako looked at the picture. It was probably the only picture she had ever taken where she smiled. Maybe she didn't always have to be the serious bookish type. She picked up her cell phone and pressed a button.

"Hey Mom? You know that concert you and Dad want me to do? I'm in."


	14. Perfection, Impostor, and Temptation

Toykia sat at the café table with Kohaku. He pretended to be looking over the menu, but really he was eyeing his girlfriend. She seemed to change a bit. One minute she was okay and the next she was paranoid. He watched her twirl a stand of her red hair as looked over her menu.

"Umm… waitress," he said beckoning over a girl with a notepad ready; "We'll have two hot chocolates please and bring a cake for her."

She wrote down the order and gathered up the menus before bowing. Toykia looked over at the girl sitting across from him. He offered her a sweet smile, but she seemed more interested in the condensation on her glass of water. Why was she acting like this? She practically begged him to take her out for a date this weekend and now she was ignoring him.

"So, how was your trip to the Caribbean?" he asked trying to engage with the red headed beauty in some way.

"It was nice," Kohaku replied in a monotone voice as she traced circles on the table.

"Is everything all right, Kohaku?" he asked as he took hold of her soft hand with his. He finally could see those violet eyes, but they didn't sparkle. It was as if something or someone had taken the light out of them.

"I'm fine," she lied and laced her fingers with his. She let her thumb rub the side of his hand as if trying to assure him of something.

"You don't have to worry about me, Toykia," she said, "I'm still a little weary from the trip. The sudden change in climate just takes some time to get use to."

Toykia stared into those violet eyes with his aqua colored eyes and saw a little twinkle there. In a princely manner, he took the hand he was holding and placed kiss on it. He looked up at Kohaku to see her blushing fiercely from this action.

"You're so beautiful," he said in a hushed tone. The red head continued to blush. This was strange behavior for her.

"Kohaku, I wish you would open up to me," he said as he let go of her hand, "You've been acting strange since the semester has started."

"I told you, I had fun," she sighed, "I'm just still tired from it."

"It's been almost a week," Toykia said as he raised an eyebrow. He saw her nervously bite her lip. She was thinking of another lie, again. He tighten his jaw as he waited for her false truth to come to her.

"I'm still on the western time zone over there," she said as she looked away, "Can you not talk about anything else? You're giving me a headache."

The purple haired boy shook his head. He wasn't going to stand for this, so he gathered up his coat before their order even arrived. He left money on the table as he stood.

"When Kohaku comes back," he said as he put his coat on, "Please tell her to call me."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Mari stretched before the team started doing warm up shots. It was the first game of the season and the school was a buzz of how well the girls' basketball team was going to do this year. With Mari as team captain this year, she had focused everything on knowing her team this year. She made sure that the second string players knew all of their plays as well as their first string. Training days were hard as well as she made sure they all stuck to a strict diet regiment. She pushed them to the limit every practice, but allowed them once a week to recover. They may have seen her as a dictator, but it would all pay off in the end.

"Mari-san," she heard someone say. She looked to see a girl from the younger classes approach her with a small poster with a picture of the pink haired tomboy in the center and the words "Good Luck" written all over it. Mari smiled, took the marker from the girl's hand and signed her poster. The little girl blushed and smiled with excitement.

"Thank you, Mari-san!" the girl exclaimed and ran back to her friends as the giggled and squealed over the autograph.

"MARI-CHAN!" called very familiar voice from across the gym, "GO MARI-CHAN! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

She looked over to find her excited boyfriend holding up the biggest poster of them all decorated with baby chicks and penguins. It had her name in bold character along with other encouraging phrases. She chuckled as the two smallest member of their group tried to get him to put the clearly obnoxious poster down.

"Wow Mari," said one of her teammates, "You have one of the best boyfriends ever. Not even my boyfriend would make a poster like that."

Throughout the duration of the game, Mari heard Natsuki's cheers the loudest over the whole crowd. It kept her spirits high, even if he didn't really understand the game. Periodically, she would wave at him when she could or give him a thumbs up. With the sound of the final buzz, the game was over. Saotome Academy was victorious. The girls jumped and hooted as the crowd cheered. It was a great game.

With her hair no longer pulled back with a head band, Mari was relieved that all the team's hard work had paid off, but that didn't mean that there couldn't be improvements. She made minor notes for her team to practice on her clipboard in her locker before heading out. Some of her team members were heading into town for karaoke and food, but she hung back. Outside the building, waiting patiently was her loyal "puppy" as some would call him.

"You could have headed back with Shou and Junko," Mari said as she walked up to the blonde haired boy wearing glasses as he still held his poster.

"But I wanted to make sure you made it back safely," he said with pride, "Now that I've met your family, I must strive to protect you at all cost."

She rolled her eyes. When was Natsuki going to stop fussing over her like this, but then again, it was nice to have someone want to protect her. She had never had that before. Even in her family she had to fend for herself. With a sigh she held out her hand for him and he gladly took hold of it. Surprisingly, Natsuki pulled her in close and embraced her like lovers do. She had never been this close to a man. This was new and scary as she felt something warm touch her forehead.

"I love you, Mari," he sighed and he held her close.

Mari's heart was beating like she had just sprinted. She tried to steady it, but there was no way she could. She couldn't meet his emerald eyes, because she was afraid of looking like a love struck fool in front of him. Then she felt her head tilt upwards to meet the loving look that was making her tremble. This was weakness.

"Well umm…," she coughed as she pushed him away, "That's nice. Now, let's head to the dorms it's freezing out here."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx**

Junko walked hand in hand with Shou everyday it seemed. They laughed and teased. She would build up his ego whenever he helped her get things off the top shelf and he would make her feel special with compliments. Most of the time when they were like this, their friends would either gag or awe at their over the top coupleness. Junko didn't really care. It was nice having someone tell her how cute she was, do things for her, or not mind her being so close. Shou couldn't have been a better companion for her.

"Wow Junko-chan," Masami giggled, "You've changed so much since you and Shou have started dating."

"What do you mean, Miss Masami?" her small friend asked with a dazed look upon her face.

"You've been drawing hearts with yours and Shou's initials in them," Masami giggled as she pointed out the doodle on her notes.

Embarrassed, Junko closed her notebook really quick.

"Sss… so," the little pixie stammered, "A lot of girls do that when they start dating someone."

"But it such a change," she said as she walked with her friend from the library, "You seem happier, more relaxed. Most times before a test, you are organizing all your notes again."

Junko blushed at her friend's observations. It was something she didn't really think about a whole lot. The small girl thought about what Masami said, but she didn't seem to feel different. Except for every time she saw her prefect boyfriend, she would get a stirring in her stomach that she couldn't stop that seem to spread all over her body. She couldn't help, but smile when she thought of those sparkling blue eyes. Her heart raced faster and her face would heat up when she thought of his kisses. Maybe she had changed some.

"Well, I guess that's just a side effect from being in love," Junko said meekly.

"Oh Junko-chan," Masami exclaimed as she patted her small friend's head, "I'm so happy for you and Shou."

"Tampen-chan," said that playful voice of her perfect match from behind the girls, "Want to have dinner with me before I head to a late night rehearsal?"

The petite girl looked up at her friend for permission and was granted. With a wave and a smile, she grasped onto Shou's hand with the warmth feeling in her heart. Yes, this was right. This was utter perfection.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ren locked his saxophone in his locker before making his way out of the music building. He opened his phone to find multiple messages from several ladies of Saotome Academy, but none from the one he had hoped to hear from the most. His heart was heavy, but he wasn't going to give up. He may be known as a playboy, but even playboys have feelings too. He kicked a stray pebble as he walked towards the dorms. Love was hard. It was the most complicated feeling the 18 year old had ever experienced. He sighed as pulled his coat closer to his body. He couldn't wait for the weather to warm up. Mush like the seasons, people could change. The blonde boy was going to prove to the young lady he loved so much that he could change. He knew deep down that she had to feel the same for him still. Toykia had to be a passing fancy for her. He smirked as he thought back to the night they salsa danced in the hotel's ballroom over the break. The way her hips swayed and how they had perfect rhythm made people stop and stare at them. She was beautiful in her pink dress and a hibiscus in her hair. Her smile and laughter just seem to make the room shine more that night. Kohaku knew how to draw a crowd anywhere she went.

Together they would be the most idolized couple at Saotome. With her flawless beauty and his model like looks, they would make anyone envious of them, but that would have to wait. He had been this patient with the violet eyed beauty, Ren just had to plan the perfect attack. Without looking where he was going, Ren accidently bumped into a small figure that was walking rather fast.

"Terrible sorry about that," he said as he helped the young lady up. She remained quiet as she brushed herself off. There was something familiar about the ebony hair beauty in front of him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. The dim lighting from the campus lights made it hard for him to see her face.

"It's no trouble," she said, "I wasn't looking where I was going. Accidents happen."

"Natsako?" The sternness in her tone gave her away.

"What happened to you?" he asked as he got a better look at her. Her hair went from of a field mouse to an almost midnight blue. She wasn't wearing her glasses and her makeup was done in a way that made her gray eyes pop. Her pale face seem to glow like it was the moon. Her lips were defined by a deep red lipstick and her lashes were much longer. She wasn't a plain Jane bookworm anymore, she was hot.

"What? Can't I try something different?" she snapped at him.

"Well yes," he chuckled, "But why so sudden? Is there someone you are trying to impress? Say maybe me?"

Natsako held her glare as Ren gave her a flirtatious look.

"It's none of your business," she said as she turned on her heels to make her way to the girls' dorm.

"Well, all right, but don't you think the others will be specious if you showed up to class with hair suddenly dyed?" he asked as he jumped in front of her; he pulled out his phone to take a quick picture of her, "Or maybe I should show this off to the whole school?"

"Ren," Natsako growled, "Are you really going to resort to blackmail?"

"Yes," he smirked, "Now why don't you tell me why this sudden change?"

The girl who was the smartest in the academy grit her teeth together to try and figure out a way out of this trap, but there was no way she could. Every possible way she thought of, she saw herself losing in the end. So with a sigh, she caved in.

"I am Izumi Yama," she said not able to look him in the eye.

"Izumi Yama?" Ren said confused, "As the rocker with the piercings and the intense dragon tattoo?"

"It's not a really tattoo!" she snapped, "It was done for a photo shoot! But yes. She is my alter ego in a way. She is the side that comes out when I'm upset. She's kind of the girl I wish I was. She's cool, aggressive, and could careless of what anyone thinks of her. She's the heartbreaker who's never had a broken heart."

The blonde boy could hear her voice start to tremble.

"Men adore her and don't think of her a freak or a know-it-all or they fear her intensity," she continued as her voice shook. Natsako was trying to hold her tears at bay.

"I hoped," she said as her eyes finally met his blue ones, "that if I became her again, maybe someone I really liked would notice me."

So the stern, strong Natsako had her moments of vulnerability. She just wanted to be tried like a girl should. Ren took her face and with his thumb wiped the stray tears that were rolling down her face. Why did he need to torture her like this? She was just like any other girl. He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Come on, Natsako," he said softly, "I'll make sure you get to your dorm safely."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Natsuki sat on the floor in his dorm room, hugging his knees close to his body. In front of him was the poster he had made for Mari's first basketball game. He was going to make a new one for her next game, but what was the point? She would just half smile at him, say thank you and be on her way. He sighed and nudged it away from him. She had changed her hair from pink to electric blue with white strikes and she didn't even bother to ask him what he thought about it. He halfheartedly wished she wouldn't. He liked it when it was longer and pale pink, but it didn't matter what he liked. Mari was going to do it anyways. He reached for the glasses sitting on his nose and pulled them off. He let his mind go black as if he was getting possessed by another being. His adrenaline was pumping and he threw a punch to the poster in front of him. This new person he became was going to take care of Natsuki's problem. Mari was going to learn.

The game was almost a lost, but luckily Mari's other team members were on top of it. Her head hadn't been right since that night Natsuki confessed his love for her. She still hadn't given him an answer, but how could she? This was so sudden. The only people who have told her that they love her were family members. She ran her fingers through her newly dyed hair and tried shake this unsecured feeling. Maybe if she explained that she wasn't ready to say those words, than he could understand.

"Mari," she heard a dark tone in her ear. She turned and felt herself being pinned against the lockers.

"Natsuki," she said sternly, "What are you doing here? This is the girl's locker room."

A smirk formed on his face as flash of lust shown in those golden eyes.

"Natsuki isn't here," he whispered and captured her lips. Mari was shocked. The kiss was hard, forced, but there was passion behind it. She tried to fight her way, but there was something about it that was drawing her in. Something told her that this was right. The impostor in the form of her boyfriend released her lips and began to kiss and nibble against her neck. His hand found his way under her shirt. Those finger tips skimmed across her flat stomach. She inhaled quick and felt her mind go into a haze, but a voice was telling her this was wrong. This wasn't Natsuki. It took him nearly four months to ask her out and almost a year to confess his love. Snapping back to reality, lifted her knee to try to and get him off, but he seemed to know what she was going to do.

"Nice try, Mari," he said in a deep tone, "But it's best if you just relax and let me take over."

"Let go," she growled.

"But you seemed to be enjoying this though," he purred in her ear, "Don't resist it. Shut your mind off and just let your body react to this."

"I said," she growled as she fought her way out of this impostor's arms, "Let go!"

Once free, she tried to run deep into the locker room, but when she reached the showers, she slipped on the slick floor and landed onto her back. She hissed in pain, but stopped when she heard a deep chuckle.

"When are you going to realize that you shouldn't resist," he said as he made way to her. He straddle her before she could make a run for it. Pinning her hands above her, he slipped his hand under her shirt to feel up her sports bra. Mari really was uncomfortable, but her body was acting in a different way. She bit her lip to her moan back as she felt his teeth graze against her neck.

"Go on, moan, Mari," he said in that deep tone, "Tell me how good make you feel. You know you prefer me over that weakling."

"No," she said finding the courage to block out desire that was building up, "I would never prefer you over Natsuki."

The impostor smirk against her neck and pulled himself away to speak.

"Didn't you know, Mari-chan," he said stroking her face, "Natsuki and I are the same."

"Natsuki!" There came call of Shou's voice as Mari heard his footsteps get closer. Before she knew it, the little man had jumped over her and wrestled him to the ground. The tomboy moved herself away so she was leaning against the cool titles of the shower room.

"Ugh… Ochibi-chan," said a confused Natsuki, "Where am I? Mari-chan?"

He crawled his way over to her, but put up her defenses.

"Mari-chan? What happened?" he asked, "Your shirt is ripped. How did you get that bruise on your arm?"

"Don't touch you monster!" she yelled and made a run for it.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx**

"Poor Mari," Haruka said melancholy, "I can only imagine what could have been going through her mind when that happened."

"Poor Mari?!" Shou exclaimed, "Poor Natsuki! I've never seen him more upset. He finally gets the nerves to tell the girl he has been pining for over a year how he feels and then that Satsuki character comes and mess it up."

"Still, I couldn't imagine being in a state like," Kohaku sighed as she threw her lunch away. It was bad enough she had her only problems to deal with, but now it worried her that Mari was doing everything she can to keep Natsuki away from her. It just didn't seem right. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she envied the pair. They were perfect for each other. It was like they canceled each other out. Their fights weren't really fights at all and Natsuki knew how to make Mari feel like a girl. Toykia had no right to have his heart played with. She had to come clean with him. She had to tell him the truth, but every time she thought of it, it made her stomach churn. She always felt uneasy.

"I'm sure Mari will be over it soon, but whether she forgives Natsuki for his actions, I cannot tell you," the red headed beauty said as she walked away.

Alone in the hallway, surrounded by the chatter of students and teachers, Kohaku drowned them out with the music she had playing in her ears. She didn't want to be bothered by anyone. She needed time to think. She made her way to a practice room which she did not noticed that it was occupied.

"Kohaku," said a shocked Ren. She looked up and felt like running, but running would make her look like a coward.

"Oh, Ren," she said gathering herself, "I must not have been paying attention. How are you?"

It had been at least a month since their last interaction and she longed to see him.

"I'm fine," he smirked, giving her a wink, "And how are you, my rose?"

He was acting like nothing happened. Was this good?

"Fine," she said. The blonde, pretty boy put away his saxophone as she rocked back and forth on her heels. The silence was rather thick. Too thick for Kohaku's liking. She studied Ren's profile. Every bit of was perfection. Her eyes lingered on his lips. Those were the things she missed the most. The heat that they brought inside of her was something she could explain. What was this spell he had on her? He shook his hair out after putting his uniform jacket back on. He gave her a crooked smile before making his way to the door. Kohaku had somehow found a way to wedge herself between him and the door. Her violet eyes looked into those blue pools longingly. She knew that she was begging for his touch when she saw the slight shock in his eyes. She wanted to give into this temptation one last time and then she would be done. She would be able to kick this crazing if he just gave her one kiss. She watched him close the distance letting his lips playfully brush against her. It wasn't until she grabbed the back of his head that she finally got to taste him again. Ren pushed her into the far corner of the practice room so others would see the sin that was taking place. Kohaku felt his tongue against hers as the danced with each other. His taste was addicting. She wanted more from him as she pulled his coat off. She felt him fumbling with tie and then the buttons on her shirt.

"No," he sighed, "I won't."

"Won't what?" she asked as she place kisses on his exposed chest.

"This isn't right," he said, "I won't let you do this."

Ren began to fix himself as Kohaku stared in shock.

"What do you mean?" she asked getting angry, "Isn't this what you wanted?"

"No," the blonde boy said, "It wouldn't be right to allow you to throw away your integrity like this. You can come to me when you're ready."

Kohaku could feel her temper raising as he left the room. To relieve the frustration she felt, she began punch the wall. It wasn't fair that her heart felt this way. He shouldn't be the one she should fall in love with and before she knew it, she was on the floor trembling as she consumed by the darkness of the room.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Haruka sat in her room with Tomochika going over the song she had been working on, but her mind could not focus on that. It was swarming with thoughts about Natsuki. He had just been so depressed since Mari stopped talk to him.

"_She just glares at me whenever I try to talk to her," he told the ginger haired girl, "I know I must have done something wrong, but I can't remember."_

She closed her journal and hugged her knees close to her body. As if sensing her distress, Tomochika started to rub her to comfort her.

"Everything will turn out all right in the end," the red head said with a smile, "You'll see."

"It just feels like things have been falling apart after winter break. Everything is changing too fast for me to keep up with. Toykia is having problems with Kohaku. Mari won't talk to Natsuki. Masato is acting paranoid and won't tell anyone why. Even Natsako and Ren are acting different recently," she whined.

"Well, there's always the positive," Tomochika giggled, "At least Shou and Junko aren't fighting anymore."


	15. I Am Not Like You

"Welcome Master Kitsune," the secretary said as she bowed in respect to her employer. The young man paid her a smile as he entered his office. Zurui Kitsune came from a very powerful family. The Kitsune clan was one of the most feared in Japan. With their connections with mafias and corrupted officers, they could get anything that they wanted and the Fujimoto fortune would be a nice addition to his collection. He took phone calls and held a few meeting with the top executes of his company. The usual routine he would go through each day. By the time lunch was served, Zurui was informed that Harumi Fujimoto had wished to have tea with him. A smile grew upon his face and made sure to clear up his schedule for the lovely lady of the Fujimoto clan. They met at an upscale café in a private room. The wife of Ryuu Fujimoto was not in the traditional attire the ladies of such a distinguish family would wear. Instead of the traditional kimono, she wore a metallic blue blouse with a black pencil skirt and black pumps. Though she did make sure to keep one tradition trait. Upon her blouse held a brooch in the form of a peacock feather. It was a sign of what household she belonged to. It was part of their custom of those who married into the Fujimoto clan, whether man or woman, to wear this. Zurui approached the table and bowed to the elder woman.

"Lady Fujimoto," he said with a pleasant smile, "It is an honor to see you."

"I heard that Masami was pleased with the flowers you sent her," the lady said after lighting her cigarette, "I've very pleased with you too, Zurui, but I'm afraid you forgot to mention one thing."

"And what would that be?" he asked before taking his tea.

"When was your last engagement?" she asked as she snapped her fingers, her assistant nearby handed her a file, "You would say a year? I believe Jinguuji should ring a bell. I hear you have bad ties with that family seeing you broke of that you were the cause of breaking off the engagement of one the sons. I must say, the women that fall for your grace and charm must be dense to not see through your rouse."

Zurui was impressed. Not many mothers would do their homework when wanting to their daughters to marry him. This peacock was more than just a beauty. She had her wits about her.

"You could say that, but it was simply a distraction and now I own half of their company's assets," the sly fox said as he met the stern look of his hostess.

"So I have to ask," she said choosing her words wisely, "What are you wanting to gain by marrying my daughter? You have all the wealth and fortune you could want, not that I am complaining. I believe you would be a great addition to our family, Zurui. I just need to make sure you are pursuing her for the right reasons."

With a smile that had won a million hearts over he said, "You laid the cards out, so let's see how this plays out."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Masami slowly packed up her cello. She was down practicing for the day and it couldn't have come at a better time. She stopped at the cafeteria to buy Masato a can of tea and sandwich and headed to his practice room. Humming a tune the whole way, she couldn't wait to see her loved one. Knowing that they would be closer to wedded bliss kept her going. It may had just seemed like a couple of old ladies' fantasy, but to her, it was the reality she had been dreaming of since she was a little girl. She always thought Masato could make a great prince. She giggled at the thought of her fiancé in a crown and robe, but still it was nice to dream. She could see herself dressed in white as all eyes were on her. Masami's would be on the man at the end of the aisle. She blushed at the thought of Masato in a tuxedo and shook her the thought out her head. She had to be poised when she saw him. Blushing like a school girl was out of the question. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she entered the practice room where they had stolen many kisses. There at the piano was her prince charming. He was so focused that he didn't notice her until the door closed behind Masami. With a small smile, she held up the food she had bought for him.

"You've been working so hard lately, Masato," she said as they sat in the open courtyard.

"Well with the piano competition coming up, I have to make sure every bit of that Chopin is perfect," he said as he opened his drink.

Masami was observing him from the side. His blue hair cover his eyes, but his cheek was perfectly exposed. Would it be unbecoming of her to kiss him right now? Junko had told her stories about Shou stealing kissing in the hallway between classes whenever he say her.

"_In front of everyone?!" Masami exclaimed as she felt her face heat up from the story._

"_Oh come on, Miss Masami," Junko giggled as she pinned strip of photo booth pictures her and Shou took when they went on their first date together, "Barely anyone noticed."_

"_But what if someone did?" the homeschooled girl asked still shocked at how calm her friend was being about this._

"_So," the petite girl said joining her friend on her bed, "I just think it was really brave of him to do something like that. It's like saying, 'Hey, she's my girl and I'll kiss her whenever I want! And I'll let everyone know it too!' Shou is so cute when he tries to act tough."_

Masami played with the hem of her skirt as she thought about maybe taking the chance to kiss her betrothed. She turned her head and watched his Adam's apple bob every time he took a drink. Her heart flutter and the heat began to beat faster at the thought of him kissing her. She had to look away before she lost it. Why was she being shy like this again? It wasn't like they hadn't kissed before.

"Masami," he said catching his fiancé's attention and kissed her on the cheek, "Thank you for always thinking of me."

"Ummm… No problem," she said timidly.

"You know," he said as he got up from the bench, "The competition requires that I do a duet with another person. Care to be that person?"

With a smile on her face, Masami nodded in agreement as she took his hand.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Natsako was getting really annoyed now. Ren had been staring at her for the past hour as she tried to study.

"So the black hair was a wig," he said bluntly ticking her off more, "Do you need glasses or is that a façade too?"

"Could you please leave," she said as she gritted her teeth, "I'm trying to study."

The blonde boy grabbed the book from her hand.

"Not till you explain yourself," he said, "Why do you have two different identities?"

The four eyed girl wanted nothing more than to punch the arrogant fool in front of her, but that wouldn't be seemly of her. Natsako wouldn't do that, but Izumi might, given the chance.

"I already told you why," she groaned as she reached for her book back, but Ren kept it out of arm's reach.

"So you take away the glasses," he said dropping the book, taking Natsako's glasses and placed them on his face, "I knew it! Another rouse. What else are you hiding Natsako? You may turn out more interesting than I thought."

Natsako took her glasses back and began to pack her things up. She didn't need to explain herself to this womanizer. Even though she left the library in a huff, that didn't stop him from following her.

"So your alter ego is one of heavy metal's hottest singers, go figure," he said as he kept pace with her.

"Can you drop it?" she asked in a harsh tone, "So what? I cried in front of you. You know my big secret. You know the main reason I was accepted to this school. Why don't you go tell everyone?!"

"Why?" he asked as he winked at his latest target, "This could be fun. You have potential for a little experiment I want to try."

Before Natsako knew it, she was whisked away to the mall. Each lady in the department stores greeted him as he pulled the faux four-eyed girl behind him till the reach their destination.

"Welcome, Master Jinguuji," a lady in a dress said as they approached her, "How can we help you?"

"My friend here," Ren said with a smile as he pulled Natsako in front of him, "needs a makeover. Less bookwormish, more posh. I'll pay for anything and everything."

There was a glint in the lady's eye as if she was excited to make a profit off the young heir. Natsako found herself in a salon chair with a hairdresser undoing her braids and start brushing her thick brown hair. It was washed, darken, pulled and placed in curlers. After her hair was done, a makeup artist stepped in and began to touch her face. Unlike Izumi, who would have darker colors, the makeup was light. Pink was applied to her lips to stand out a little more on her face. There was a blue coat for her eye shadow to bring out her gray eyes. When she got a look at her new look, she was shocked at the face she saw. Her hair was a dark chocolate brown and her eyes seem to sparkle. She looked really pretty as she touched the little waves in her hair. She had never seen herself like this, neither did she think it was possible. Out of the corner of her eye, she say Ren smiling at the improvement.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked feeling herself become shy.

"Because you said you wanted to change," he said as he approached to stand next to her, "Come on. We're not nearly done."

Outfit after outfit the bookish girl tried on was a different experience. Ren encouraged her to pose with every one of them, even if Natsako didn't like one. She found herself genuinely having a good time with the flirtatious boy. It was shocking. She couldn't think of a time Ren had been this nice to a girl, especially like a girl like her. Thanking the ladies at the department store, Natsako walked with all of the new purchases alongside the tall blonde.

"You know," he said catching her attention, "You're cute when you smile."

"Okay, Ren," she said as sat on a bench, "Why are you really doing this?"

"Can't I just be a nice person?" he asked as he pretended to be hurt, but nothing got passed Natsako, "I just want Kohaku, just like you want Toykia."

She blushed and look away from him.

"Don't be silly," she said, "I'm happy for them, just like you should."

"Come on Yamamoto," he said as he tapped her head with his knuckle, "It's pretty obvious that we're bother pretty crazy about those two. I see you watching them afar like I do."

Natsako looked down and saw her knee bounce up and down. She was squeezing the seat of the bench to keep her feelings from getting the best of her. If there is one thing a woman should not do, is cry in front of a man. Before she knew it she was being pulled into Ren's shoulder.

"It's okay if you don't want to say anything," he said in a deep tone, "I hate admitting it myself, but in a way, we are two fools wishing that they would have chosen us."

"So what are you suggesting to do?" she asked as her voice trembled.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Otayo strummed away on his guitar, playing the melody that had been playing in his head for the pass hour or so. His song was nearly complete for the one girl who he had his heart set on. With the final strum of the ending chord he was done. This was going to be his greatest masterpiece, but coming up with the right time to spring it on her was going to be hard.

"Otayo!" called Haruka as she approached him from the bottom of the hill.

"Hey Haru-chan," he said with a smile as he hid the masterpiece, "still upset about Natsuki, huh?"

The gingered hair girl sat next to the red headed boy with a weary look on her face. Haruka had felt like a messenger between the tomboy and her lovesick "puppy". There was still no progress. Mari was refusing Natsuki's pleas and Haruka was the one stuck in the middle. She wanted nothing more than for the couple to get back together, but that seemed harder than expected. Otayo could see that the stress was taking a toll on the fair songwriter and thought fast to cheer her up.

"You know what you need?" he said with a friendly smile, "You need a sweet snack."

He pulled out a bag of cookies that he was given by one of his fellow students and offered them to the girl he cared about the most in the world. With a half-smile, she accepted the token and took a small bite of one of the cookies. She sighed and fell back onto the grass.

"What are we going to do?" she asked not really expecting a response from her male companion, "Natsuki is miserable and he doesn't know why won't forgive him for something he had no control over. I can still see him staring at her from a distance with those sad eyes wanting nothing more than for her to asking him to sit with her."

Haruka sighed again as she heard Otayo lay next to her.

"Hay, that cloud looks like a bunny," he said as he pointed at the sky, "and that one kind of looks like a sheep. What do you see, Haru-chan?"

It was a great tactic to get Haruka to stop thinking about the problems that had arose in their little group. He wanted to stop thinking about them as well. With Toykia now having daily arguments with Kohaku, his roommate's mood has been unbearable to be around. He was like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off on anything. He just wanted to enjoy this moment with Haruka in the peace of the slight warm weather when winter was melting away and spring was slowly starting to bloom. Cloud after cloud had a different shape and a different story. Hearing Haruka's laugh was the best music he could ask for from this moment in time. The world's problems would have to wait as the two friends lay in the grass carelessly looking at the clouds.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

He didn't care if he saw Kohaku at all today. She had become a thorn in his side for way to long. A month had passed and she was still acting weird. Why did he even bother asking her out in the first place? Did he really want to date her or was it because he was upset with how Ren would play cat and mouse with her? Toykia sighed as he left the practice room to get some air. When he exiting, he almost didn't notice the lovely young lady walking by him. Hair that looked like milk chocolate and lips that shimmered with pink gloss. He turned as he watched the slightly petite figure walk down the hallway to the dirty blonde fox that he had concerned his enemy for a while. He watched Ren lace an arm around the womanly figure and place a kiss on her temple. He winked at Toykia playful as if issuing a challenge. He saw the curiosity that was stirring in the idol's eyes as he walked away with the mysterious girl. Toykia felt the urge to follow this new couple, but found that his feet had turned into lead. What had come over him? This was insane. He needed air.

He reached at the bottom of the vending machine for his water bottle when he heard a cough next to him.

"I came to apologize, Toykia," said the red headed beauty, "I have been unfair to you this whole time we've been back at school and I'll do anything to make up for it."

As a piece offering, Kohaku gave Toykia a bag of freshly made cookies all shaped like roses.

"You don't like roses," he said playfully as he took the bag.

"Yes, but I think it's time I confessed something to you," she said playing with the end of her hair. The purple headed boy watched her nervously bit her bottom lip as she thought about what she was going to say, but something changed her mind as she tip toed her way to his lips. With a lit peck on his lips, she waited to see if he'd might kiss back. As she started to push herself away, Toykia took a hold of this moment to kiss her properly. Lifting her chin back up to let their lips meet once more, he'd hope to find something in this kiss. If he just tried harder, maybe a sparkle could form between them. It was clear she wanted to try now. He felt a slight stirring, but it wasn't enough as she tried to deepen the kiss. He pulled away and smiled.

"You can tell me later," he said as he grasped her hand, "How about I walk you back to the dorm?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Mari laid on her bed listening to music as she flipped through a sports magazine. With the click of the door handle, acknowledged her roommate's return.

"So," she said drily, "Did you tell him?"

"No," Kohaku sighed as she slumped into her chair and laid her head on her desk.

The tomboy took off her headset and sat up to hear with the red haired beauty had to say.

"We made amends," she continued, "Doesn't that count for something? I haven't seen Ren since our last encounter nor have I gone looking for him either."

"But?"

"Oh shut up," she snapped at the tomboy, "You still won't face the fact that you're still scared of Natsuki."

"I'm not scared," Mari retorted.

"Then why do you put on this tough girl act all of a sudden. You know any girl would give anything to have what you and Natsuki have," Kohuka bit back as she pulled her long lots into a ponytail, "He practically worships the ground you walk on. He would do anything for you and you're willing to throw that all away just because you enjoyed a few moments of pleasure with him!"

"Hey! This whole dating thing is still new to me, you know," the tomboy said getting fed up with the beauty, "News flash, I'm not the type of girl who gets a guy. They usually run the opposite way when they see me. I play sports. When I eat, food gets all of me. Damn it! I grew up with three older brothers for crying out loud! I'm like them only with boobs. Not every girl is like you that just has her choice of any guy she wants. It's bad enough you have one of the hottest guys in the academy pining after you, but apparently that's not enough for you."

"I didn't ask Toykia to ask me out!" she shouted at her roommate.

"No! I did!" Mari blurred and there was a seize fire. The violet eye beauty stared up at her tall roommate, mouth agape, not knowing what to say next.

"I'm going to the gym," Mari groaned as she left her roommate too stunned for words.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Natsako looked herself over in the mirror one more time. No glasses Ren had told her. Today all eyes were going to be on her as a new person. A softer, more delicate side that Natsako didn't know existed. She applied some gloss to her lips as a final touch. Before she could grab her backpack, her phone started to ring with Mom glaring on the screen.

"Can we talk later, Mom?" she asked after answering it, "I'm about to head to class."

"Oh sorry hon," her mom apologized over the receiver, "Just calling to tell you the booking went through and next week performance is ready to go."

"Okay. Thanks for the heads up. Bye," and she snapped her phone shut.

Natsako looked up at herself in the one more time. Her pale complication seem to have a glow with the lit blush she had applied this morning. She was a whole new Natsako now. No more bookworm. With a proud smile, she left her dorm to meet up with Ren. The blonde boy waited patiently for her outside.

"Bout time," he chuckled, "I thought you had chicken out."

"Nope," she said beaming up at him, "I'm ready for this."

Ren smiled and patted her head. Lancing his fingers with hers, he said, "Let's go show Toykia what he's missing out on."

Though she was ecstatic about her new look, she felt uneasy when she started noticing all the starts she was getting. The students were point and whispering as she and Ren walked by.

"Good morning, Ren-san," greeted one of the girls from the younger classes, "Do we mind if we ask you who your new friend is?"

"Well you should already know who she is," he said as he put his arm around the petite frame next to him, "It's my good friend, Natsako Yamamoto."

For the rest of the day, Natsako was surround by boys and girls alike. She was not used to all this attention she was getting. When she had the chance, she escaped to the roof where she could finally breathe.

"Enjoying the attention?" asked a male voice from behind her. When she turned to see who it was, she was shocked.

"Toykia?"

"Hey Natsako," he said with a smile and offered her a can of juice, "You look nice."

Her heart sunk, but she remembered why she was doing that.

"Just nice, huh?" she teased, "Trying to play it cool, are you?" She had him blushing. Score one for Natsako.

"Well… It's just different to see you like this, Natsako," he stammered as he sat next to her, "To be honest, the braided pigtails were a nice touch for you."

He was playing with a strand of her hair and Natsako's eyes were locked with his greenish blue ones. When did they get so intense? Toykia smirked before letting go of her hair.

"So you and Ren a thing?" he asked.

"Please," she scoffed, "I'm just a project he wanted to do. See if he could make me into a princess or something."

"Well he did a good job," the purple haired boy answered and she nearly choked on her juice. He chuckled at her expression. He wiped the little drips of juice from her chin and how close he was to her, he could kiss her. She hoped that he would as she flutter her eyes a little and slowly leaned her head upwards towards him.

"I better go," Toykia said as he let go of her face and he left without another word.


	16. Valentine's Romance

AN: Thank you for all the support and for being patience on this latest chapter. Warning: there is a little fluffiness within this chapter. Hope ya'll like it. :3

* * *

><p>Otoya sat is in his room, scribbling in his notebook with his headphones on. It was only a matter of time before he would confess his love to Haruka and then she would be his. With a sigh of content, he fell back into his pillow and placed the notebook to the side. This plan was perfect. He would lead her to the gazebo where they first sang together, perform the song for her and then… Well she would accept and that would be that! But what if she didn't? He hadn't planned for that and just like that his smile fell from his face. Why did love have to be so complicated? The door opened, revealing his roommate just coming back from a bath. Water still dripped from his hair as Tokiya lazily continued to dry it. Otoya had noticed he hadn't been in high spirits lately.<p>

"Were you able to clear your head?" the red head asked as he put his guitar away.

"No," his roommate sighed as he sat at his desk throwing the towel in the clothes bin, "I think I should just break up with Kohaku. It really isn't working out."

"She seems to be putting more of an effort last I saw," Otoya said trying to be positive, "She seemed very excited about spending the day with you on Valentine's."

Tokiya couldn't talk to Otoya about this. He was too thick to see that he had been spending more time in the library lately, making any attempts to talk to Natsako before she was whisked away by Ren for whatever reason. They had been getting friendly with each other lately and now with her new look, it made him very weary of what the sex demon would do to such a pure soul. He flipped out his textbook and started working on some homework. Otoya worried about his roommate. Mostly because he saw how it was effect Haruka. She didn't like how distant everyone was getting, how they were letting their problems consume themselves. Someone had to change this and make everyone realize that they're not really alone in this world. That's how Otoya got his most brilliant plan.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Have another party?" Tomochika said confused.

"Yeah," the red head said excitedly, "If we all celebrate Valentine's together, this will make Shou less worried about ruining his first Valentine with Junko, Masato won't be focused on that Zurui character, get Mari and Natsuki in the same room, we can find out why Ren and Natsako have become so close and maybe Tokiya and Kohaku can sort out their problem without feeling awkward doing it alone. Everyone will have someone to go to in case something does happen!"

Haruka and Tomochika looked at each, exchanging looks that made Otoya feel a little uneasy. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

"We could always bake goodies for the party," Haruka said and this made her friend smile.

"But convincing everyone is going to be hard," the red headed girl said as she continued to ponder the idea, but a sneaky smile spread across her face as she did. Otoya could tell that she liked the idea a lot.

Tomochika took Haruka by the arm and told Otoya they would catch with him later that day. For now she needed to find out what was going on in that sweet naïve head of Haruka.

"So, got anyone in mind for Valentine's day?" the read head asked the ginger.

"No, why?" she asked.

"Come on, Haruka. Open your eyes," Tomochika said, "Can't you see that Otoya is trying to put the moves on you?"

"But I thought he was more focused on his music. He has been working on a song for a while now," she replied.

Oh, she was a lost cause or maybe not. Maybe with this party, it could be a chance to encourage Otoya to act on his feels that he has for the ginger haired girl. All he really needed was a little push.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Swoosh went the ball through the hoop. Mari caught it as it bounced and dribbled down to the other side of the court. With the right motivation, they could win this game, but she was shoved by a player from the opposing team. The whistle was blown and a penalty was called against the player. She was benched and this gave Mari a chance to score some free throw points for her team. She wiped her brow with a towel the team manager gave her before making her way to the free throw circle. She dribbled the ball a couple of times before focusing on the goal. She blocked out all of the cheering and booing, but someone was able to pierce through that concentration.

"Go Mari-chan!" cried Natsuki from the crowd making her aim the ball bounce off the back board and hitting the ref in the head. The rest of the game was a blur for Mari as she struggled and stumbled the whole game. Every time she heard Narsuki cheer for her, she would freeze up in some way and almost go in a panic. She wasn't ready to face him yet and he had the gall to come to her game. Saotome Academy lost by twenty points, because of all the fumbling the girl's captain did. Mari took whatever the coach had to say to her. She had let her team down and was going to be benched for the next. Slamming her locker in anger, the pixie hair girl left in a huff not realizing the tall young man in front of her.

"Hey Mari-chan," the blonde boy said with a smile.

"What do you want, Natsuki?" she asked with a slight growl.

"I just wanted to see you," he replied as he tried to touch her face, but took a step away to keep him out of arm's reach.

"Well, I don't want to see you," the tomboy said with a scowl and tried to walk passed him, but he continued to block her path.

"Why are you doing this Mari? I don't even remember doing those things to you," Natsuki pleaded with her, "I'm truly sorry that it happened. You know I would never hurt you."

"Move," she said as she tried to shove him out of the way, but he was an unmovable barrier as her grasped on to her shoulders.

"Listen to me, Mari," he said as he kept her at bay.

"Idiot!" she yelled and tried swinging her fists at him, "I said move!"

When one of them made contact with his cheek, she took off, running as fast as she could only to have him chase her as well.

"Mari!" he called from behind her, keeping her pace as well. If she could just make it to the girls' dorm, then everything would be okay. She was only a few steps away before she feel a pair of arms embrace her from behind. She struggled like a bird locked in a cage. The tomboy tried her with all her might to wriggle her way out, but the blonde boy just held tighter to her.

"Please Mari," he said with his voice shaking, "don't be like this. Forgive me for what I have done."

"Let go!" she shouted not wanting to see his tears, because if she did, it would make her cave in.

"Mari," he whispered in her ear, making the hairs on her neck stand up and her stomach go in knots, "I love you."

"Idiot," she said as she finally broke free, making a break for the door, not letting him see the tears that were streaming down her face.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Masato stared out the window during class one day, spying him fiancée enjoying her break with her small roommate. He watched her laugh at the ecstatic story her friend was telling her and it made him smile. Then their eyes met. Masami paid him a sweet smile and a wave before heading in with Junko. The young heir turned his attention back to the music lesson. How strange it was to think by the summer he would be a married man. How would he balance being in Starish with having a wife to take care of? By the sound of the bell, the lesson was over and it was time for lunch. Like on schedule, the black haired beauty was waiting for him outside his classroom with a bento for him.

"I hope you enjoyed you lesson today," she said with a smile as he handed him the bento. Instead of taking to meal, he took her hand and led her to a place where they could have more privacy before any of the other came for them. He wanted to spend some time with his soon-to-be wife.

Finding an abandoned practice room away from prying eyes, Masato took this opportunity to kiss his beloved unsuspectedly. He could take she was taken aback by his sudden boldness, but she relaxed and gave into him. He heard her sigh as his lips trailed down her neck and back up to her ear.

"Masami," he whispered in her ear, "I love you."

"I love you too, Masato," she said sweetly to him as she allowed him to rest his forehead on hers. He looked into those blue pools that had admired him for so long and smiled. She cupped in cheek, letting her thumb draw tiny circles around his beauty mark.

"You need to eat, Masato," she said as she lightly pushed him away, but the blue haired heir was not done with his lover as he captured her lips once again, pinning her between the wall and his body. Since this fox called Kitsune had been sneaking around, Masato didn't want to take any chance. He wanted to make her long for his touch. No matter what trickery that smug bastard may pull, the heir wanted his scent to be all over her that it would make the fox sick.

"Make love with me, Masami," he said, blushing fiercely at the words that fell out of his mouth.

"What?" she asked, shocked at what he was saying.

"Make love with me," he said softer, trying to scare the timid woman in front of him, "We can disappear for Valentine's. I'll get a hotel room and it can be the two of us."

"I… umm…" she couldn't look at him now and Masato cursed himself for being so brash. She was trying to find the words, but Masato stopped her.

"Just think about it, okay?" he asked her before taking to forgotten bento, "Let's go eat with the others."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shou looked over the different trinkets he could get Junko, but couldn't decide on one. He dragged Natsuki along with him, hoping that the fresh air would get his mind off of Mari and her stubborn ways. She was set on making his friend miserable that nothing the little blonde boy did would make him excited and happy. He even told him he would dress up like a girl for him, but Natsuki just rolled over on his side and cuddled with his stuffed chick he had gotten for Christmas.

"How about this?" Shou asked his best friend as he held up the matching cell phone charms, "One for her and one for me. And they're even bunnies. Cute, right?"

"I guess," his friend sighed as he poked a little penguin. This was getting old. Shou put the charms back and marched out of the store they were in.

"Where you going, Shou-chan?" the tall man asked as he followed him.

"I'm going to find that basketball freak, drag her by the scalp of her hair and make her talk to you," he huffed, not slowing his pace as he trudged down the street.

"But she'll kill you before you get a chance to do that," Natsuki said as he caught up with the little man.

"It's not right!" he yelled up at his friend, "She socked you in the face for crying out loud and you're still crazy about her! Why do you put up with that? It's like you've got back to square one with that monster."

"Don't call her that," the tall blonde scolded his little friend.

"Then what should I call her?!" he snapped back, "She won't even you give the time of day to explain yourself."

Natsuki balled his fist, wanting to fight back, but something told him not to. He just sighed and smiled as he pat Shou on the head.

"I haven't been a friend to you lately, huh?" he asked, "Come on. I'll help you find that gift for Junko-chan."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kohaku was laying on her bed as Mari sat at her desk working on some homework when they heard a knock at their door. The tomboy sighed as she got up from her seat to open the door. Tomochika stood there in a pink frilly dress holding a larger paper heart in her hand.

"You're invited," Mari read the writing on the front of the hand crafted heart, "To what?"

"To a Valentine's party!" the red head exclaimed and tossed confetti in the air, "It's in the large music room where the choir practices tonight at 7. Don't be let! Oh, and wear something nice."

Before Mari could say anything else, Tomochika took off down the hall to the stairs.

"Well, looks like we need to get ready," the red headed beauty yawned after she looked at her watch.

"It's in two hours," the tomboy groaned.

"Two hours isn't even enough time for me to pick out an outfit. Let alone one for you," Kohaku said as she walked to her closet, "And then there is hair and makeup. I can't do my nails in two hours. I wonder if I have that press on nail set."

"Well you can forget about me," Mari replied, returning to her work, "I'm not going."

"Afraid Natsuki with change again and make you go weak in the knees?" the heiress asked sarcastically, receiving a glare from her blushing roommate, "So you liked his kissing. Get over it!"

"But it wasn't Natsuki," Mari groaned, "It was someone else in his body or looked like him."

"How long are you going to make him miserable?"

"As it takes him to get over me and move onto someone else," her roommate replied.

"You really think he could move on to somebody else, Mari? He's crazy about you," Kohaku replied as she reached for a box on the top shelf of her closet. Before Mari had a chance to reply, a wig was placed over her hair and adjusted to fit her head.

"What are you doing?!" she snapped and almost pummeled the heiress.

"Just look!" Kohaku said excitedly as she placed a hand mirror in front of her roommate. Pale pink wavy shoulder length hair was now dawned on her head. It almost looked the same as the hair she had when Natsuki and her first met. She remember on their first summer together, when they would met up, he would often play with an end of it and kiss it sometimes. The affection he would give her that summer, though simple and not overbearing, still made her scared, she cut her hair as short as she could so he wouldn't feel a need to play with it. It didn't stop him from getting a dreamy and dazed look in his eyes whenever he saw her.

"Why are you doing this, Fukuda?" the tomboy sighed.

"Well, if I know someone that deserves a good relationship, it's you," the beauty replied as she started to style the wig she dawned on her roommate's head, "I've seen the way he looks at you, Mari. Even with all the glaring and threats you have delivered to him, he still loves you. He makes you better."

"How so?" she laughed.

"He makes you softer. He makes you not afraid of being feminine," Kohaku replied smiling, "He brings the best out of you. That's why you need to take him back."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Otoya was helping Haruka with the final preparation, while Tomochika decided to play cupid and gather all their friends. He took the chance to look over the little ginger he adore so much in the red dress and heels she wore with black beret on her head. She was lovely. Maybe now would be a good chance to tell her how he felt.

"I really hope this plan works, Otoya," she said as she pinned the last heart to the wall.

"Don't worry, Haru-chan," he said optimistically as he threw an arm around her shoulder, "This is a great way for all of us to get together. We'll laugh and sing and play a few games. Just catch up and see what's really important."

He could still see those worry lines on her face.

"Why don't I play my new song for you?" he suggested as he walked over to the guitar case in the corner of the room. After tuning the strings on his instrument, he became to pick on them. The notes of the opening chords filled the room and Haruka took a seat in front of her red headed friend. His song told a story about a boy who was in love with a girl and how she was his world, but he knew that her heart belonged to others as well. He talked about the girl cared for others even though the boy wanted her just to himself. All he wanted was for her to know that he loved her and wanted to make her his. He wanted to be part of that heart of hers, but make their love deeper than anyone else's. He finished the story by saying the boy was going to tell her today, he hoped that she would be his and that she would accept his love. When Otoya strummed the last chord, he waited to see what Haruka's reaction. She applauded him when he was done.

"That was a beautiful song," she said, "I can tell you've worked really hard."

"Well, Toyika kind of helped a little," he said bashfully, "But there is a reason I wanted to play this song for you. I have something to tell you, Haru-chan."

"What is it?" she asked as the blushing boy took a deep breath.

"Haru-chan," he started but was interrupted by a door slamming open.

"HAPPY VALENTINE'S!" the hyper-active roommate of the ginger girl exclaimed as she tossed pink and red confetti into the air. Behind her was the smallest couple of the group along with the tallest member of Starish looking less the cheery. Shou offered to get Junko a can of juice while she talked with the girls for a little. Otoya sat next to Natsuki, letting a loud sigh.

"So close," the red head said, "It feels like the world doesn't want me to confess."

"Were we interrupting something?" the blonde young man asked.

"Oh… Not really," he stammered, "Just played a song for Haruka. She liked it a lot."

"Don't give up, Otoya," Natsuki answered as he played with the penguin and chick phone charms he had, "You'll have your chance."

Masato and Masami were the next to arrive. They both looked rather unsteady and frazzled. It seemed that every time he and his fiancé would make eye contact, she would go into a blushing fit as she quickly looked away from him, distracting herself by asking Junko about what her boyfriend got her for their first Valentine's.

"This cute phone charm," the petite girl said with pride as she showed it off to the other, "They were a pair too. Mine here is dressed in a kimono and his is in a male's version. When you look at them together, they're so cute!"

Shou blushed a little as Junko continued to sing his praises and hugged his arm. Tomochika whispered to Haruka about how cute they looked together and shared a giggle with together. Tokiya showed up next without Kahuko, making a few staring at him riding solo. He took the time to explain that Kahuko wanted him to go ahead on his own as he took his place on the other side of Otoya. Ren showed up escorting the new and improved Natsako. His tie matched her purple bow in her hair. Otoya noticed that Tokiya was observing the couple as Ren stood close to the bookish girl with his hand around her waist. The red headed boy saw his roommate jaw tighten when the flirtatious boy kissed his date's hand before leaving her with the other girls. The door clicked for the final time revealing Kahuko with a frilly red dress that was a shade darker than her hair and her tall roommate. Natsuki was taken back when he saw the woman he loved so much in a very feminine dress. It hugged her curves in all the right places and it fell just above her knee. Her lips were glossed, makeup was done well to compliment her skin, but it was her hair that made him stare. It took him back to the rap battle, back to the summer days they would spend together and rather than having it back in a ponytail like she would usually would, it was down with enough wave in it for him to run his fingers through. She was so breath taking. When she entered with Kohaku, she wobbled a little and Natsuki rushed to catch her before she fell first into the floor. Everyone in the room went quiet as they watched to see what the tomboy's reaction would be after this brave rescue.

"Ummm… thanks," she said pushing him away so she could try standing in the death trap that were attached to her feet.

"You can have my seat," Otoya offered as he stood up to make way for her wobbly walk to a chair that was only four steps away from her. She gratefully took it and was about to rip off the shoes only to get a death glare from her heiress roommate before she had the chance to. Natsuki took the seat next to her, but made no advances due to the fact everyone was eying the couple.

"So Tokiya," the lovely red head said to her boyfriend, trying to take some attention off her roommate and bashful boyfriend, "I got you something for Valentine's day."

She held out a purple box with gold bow on it and waited in anticipation to see his reaction to the gift she got him. He opened the lid to find a pin shaped like a flower.

"It's a lilac," she said as she assisted him with the purple and gold pin to his coat and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "I love you."

Lacing her fingers with his, she offered him a smile and he gave one back. He kissed the top of her head. He may not know quite what was going through the red head's mind, but she was putting forth an effort. ToKiya looked up as his eyes met a gray pair who offered a smile as well before turning her attention back to Haruka and Ren. He felt a pain in his heart for Natsako, but what good would it be to leave Kohaku now that she was opening her heart to him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Laughter filled the room as Mari managed music for the party as Natsuki sat close by. He hadn't made a single advance towards her tonight, which made her wonder if how she dressed probably turned him off. She would look out of the corner of her eye to observe his dazed stare and when he turn to meet her glance, she turned her attention back to her mp3 player.

"Shinomiya," she said drily," What do you think about my outfit?"

Natsuki turned to look her over. The tomboy tried to keep herself from blushing as he worked his way down her long, tone legs and back up to her face.

"I think you look nice," he said, "but this isn't you."

Guess trying to be drop-dead sexy wasn't going to with Natsuki. She then felt a tug on her hair as if it was being moved back and heard a snap as a hair clip was used to pull back the right side of her hair. She turn to meet his beautiful green eyes as she was taken aback by this gesture and he simply kissed her cheek.

"It's a penguin barette," he said with a smile. Mari smiled back at him before asking him, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this? Chasing after me? After all those mean things I've said to you, you still want me," she whispered.

"If you've forgotten," he whispered back to her with his trademark gentle smile, "I love you, Mari-chan."

She blushed as looked away from him. Her heart was beating uncontrollably and she thought that she would start sweating through the wig. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him kiss the end of a strand of pink hair. Mari sighed as she took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder so she could lean her head on his.

"Yeah…" she mumbled, "Me too."

Shou observed the scene from afar and saw Natsuki get a stupid grin on his face at the end of the exchange he had with the young lady he loved so much. The smallest male couldn't help, but smile and give his friend a thumbs up.

"Shou," his girlfriend said getting his attention as she hugged his arm and yawned, "Masami left with Masato and thinks she'll be late coming back to the door. Could you walk me back please?"

He checked his watched and nodded to his beloved.

"Get your coat and scarf," he said, "I'll just inform Natsuki."

She smiled up at him and gave him a sweet peck before rushing over to the coatrack. Junko and Shou did change a lot since they started dating, Natsako noted as Ren refilled her cup with punch. The brunette noticed that everyone had been paired off with their perfect match it seemed. The delicate Masami had the calm and cool Masato to guard her. The rough Mari was back in the soothing arms of Natsuki. The cheerful Junko held hands with her playful match, Shou as the made their exit. Even the kindhearted Haruka had the lovable Otoya to keep her company while Tomochika occupied her time with keep refreshments well supplied. Then there was Tokiya and Kohaku getting cozy again in the other corner of the room. Their faces inches away from each other as they held a conversation only for their enjoyment.

"Natsako," the blonde young man said to break her concentration, "I'm afraid you're gripping your drink a little too hard."

She reacted by dropping the drink from her hand and watching it fall to the floor.

"Excuse me," she said and left the room to the bathroom. She wet her face with a little water, not sure what else to do to keep her face from heating up so much. Why wasn't this plan Ren thought up working? She changed her look. Shouldn't Tokiya want her more now that she was showing a more feminine side of herself or does that only work on girls that were already born and breed into that lifestyle? The frustrated bookworm had done everything she could for the past couple of week to get the purple haired boy to notice her and she thought that was working too. He had walked her back to the dorm a couple of times to her dorm, opened the door for her, picked up a dropped book, assisting in any way she might need, yet he was spending most of his night with the prettiest girl in school. Then again, that's all Natsako knew. Never the maiden who got the prince, because he already had a princess waiting for him. She heard a knock from outside the girls' bathroom and heard to door slowly creak open.

"Natsako," Ren's voice called, "Everything okay?

"Don't come in!" she shouted.

"It's okay," Tomochika said as she walked past Ren to get in, "Everyone noticed that you had left so abruptly that we wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Tokiya out there?" she asked as she dampened a towel to wipe her face again.

"Yeah," the red head said with a smile as she placed a hand on her shoulder to whisper in her ear, "Don't worry. Even princesses don't get the prince."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Masato sat in the bathhouse, letting the warm water around him try to set his mind at ease. Would he and Masami really go through with this? When he told Ren about what he was going to he was surprised at the comment his roommate made.

"_Remember to do it for the right reasons," the blonde lady's man said as he straighten his own tie, "A woman's heart is delicate and can easily break. By choosing to make love with her, you are opening up a new chapter in your relationship that could either bloom or die in an instant."_

That fair warning made him think for a moment on whether or not taking this big step was going to help him and Masami or just hurt them. Maybe Masami will get so scared of the whole thing that she'll run off, back to the dorms and they would just accept that this was a huge mistake. Pulling his hand out, he saw how pruney he was getting. Hopping out of the springs, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off. Once he was in a bathrobe, the young heir made his way down the hall of the ryokan, to the room his blushing bride-to-be would be waiting for him.

When he opened the sliding door to the room, he stood there to a beautiful sight. Masami's black hair grazed her shoulders as she sat on the futon with her robe loosely hanging to her body. Upon her cheeks was a light blush as she smoothed out the sheets that laid on the futon. She must be thinking a thousand things just as he, but what he didn't account for was the fact that he would seek a peek at her breast as she lean forward to fluff one of the pillows.

"Masami," he said nervously.

Masami stopped what she was doing to look up at her fiancé. She started to do a polite bow, but Masato said that it really wasn't necessary. In silence that sat, not really sure want to do. They both began to speak, but stopped when they both started at the same time.

"Masami," the heir started as he reached to touch her hand, "We don't have to go through with this if you're not ready."

There was a brief pause which made Masato think that she would reject him, but then he felt his hand move up to her chest to the location of her heart.

"Feel that?" she asked, "That's what you do to me every time I'm near you. You've done that to me ever since that time in the garden over the summer. I am scared, but I know that you'll do everything in your power to make sure I'm all right. Even if something bad happens, you'll be the only one who can truly make my heart dance like this."

His purple eyes met her blue ones and he knew that this was right for them. As his hand caressed her head, his lips met hers as they shared a gentle kiss that lead them to a night of hot, steamy passion that couldn't be matched by anyone.


End file.
